The Value of Gold
by Kassandra85
Summary: The Battle of the Five Armies left the North unstable and dangerous. The company of Thorin Oakenshield survived the battle, but what about Erebor? Will the proud king of Erebor accept the only help he gets from the East? Will his gold buy him safety? And what about love? Rated M to be sure. P.S.: My first story after a long break...
1. Chapter 1

Smaug, the Terrible, was dead, the Battle of the Five Armies was won, the Necromancer in Dol Guldur had retreated back into shadow and only few orcs had survived the battle against the combined forces of dwarves, elves and men. But Middle Earth was far from peaceful.  
A dark shadow crossed the lands, but it did not linger until it had reached the Eastern realm of Rhun. There, it decended upon the land and the people to bring nothing but ruin.  
0  
After many weeks of shock and despair, the people of Rhun learned to live with the threatening shadow and tried to live their lives in a land with no warming sunlight and only little hope. Alarming rumors about the exiled dwarven king Thorin Oakenshield valiantly reclaiming the Lonely Mountain had reached every corner in Middle Earth and the news of the death of the last fire drake spread even faster than an eagle could fly. Rhun had never reached out for the people in the West in diplomatic relations and the fact that the West had once again strengthened their position with the victorious battle over a fire drake and the forces of evil was bad news for the political leadership of the eastern lands. But they had to struggle more dangerous problems than the Western neighbours regaining their strength.

Life in Rhun was changing, not that it had been a properous and rich land before, but things got worse by the day. The dark shadow lingered over the rough landscape and the grey hills. It had been a while since the sun had been shining in its full glory. It was as if a threatening fog had descended upon Rhun, a dark force that nobody could grasp; illusive and dangerous.  
In his despair, the king of Rhun turned to the West for help. Or at least, that was what he wanted his people to think. King Dario was a greedy and corrupted man, who put his personal wealth above all else. He did not care about his people, he did not care about their starving or suffering. All he wanted was wealth and most of all gold.  
With a longing gaze, the king of Rhun turned to the West, where he could see the tip of the Lonely Mountain under a foggy horizon. Due to the lack of sun, his lands wasted away and the crops turned foul. His trading routes were diminishing and less people bought merchandise and food from Rhun. Many merchants had fallen sick due to the lack of healthy crops and many had ruined their reputation in selling foul food. His people were slowly starving, but the king was only interested in his wealth. He had to look for different ways to get his hands onto riches, now that trade was practically gone. But there was still one thing he could trade, something the dwarves of Erebor needed more than anything at the moment. Protection.

King Thorin only had a few dwarves by his side and his cousin Dain was too weak to protect both the Iron Hills and Erebor after the costly battle. The dwarves of Erebor would return, but they would have to cross half of Middle Earth to wander back from Ered Luin to Erebor and the road was dangerous. King Thorin would need an army.

And in return, he would get his gold.  
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Thorin watched small army from the East march upon his mountain with barely concealed anger. The arrogant king of Rhun had forced him into a bargain, a bargain which suited both sides, but had not been Thorin´s first choice. The king had sent a letter, informing Thorin about his visit and the purpose, but he had arrived in Erebor before Thorin had the time to think about the offer. The eastern king knew that Thorin had no choice and Thorin would never again let his pride stand in the way of a peaceful life for his people. He would secure the mountain and hold it until his people had returned from Ered Luin, he would protect their home. The fact that this eastern king knew that Thorin had no choice but to accept his offer and showed this in the open was almost too much for Thorin´s pride. It took Bilbo and Balin hours to point out the good and bad sides of such a bargain, but in the end they had agreed, that Erebor needed protection and that the Iron Hills would not be able to help without leaving their own flanks vulnerable. The men of Dale had their own problems and Thranduil would never send elves to their rescue again, not after the losses his elves had to take in the last battle.

Now, the king of Rhun offered them his immortals. Thorin´s first instinct told him not to trust the dangerous mercenaries, who were called immortals. They knew only little about those men - Ori had told him all he knew about those mythical soldiers, but it had not been much. Trained right from the day when they started walking, the immortals were some of the most deadly fighters in Middle Earth. They were ruthless, pitiless and efficient. They did not need much for themselves and they pledged their loyalty to the one who paid them enough. They wore a black armor and shining mask which covered their ugly faces, rumor had it, that an immortal man´s face was so terrifying that it had to be covered with a mask so that it could be looked upon by the ones who paid them.

These men were supposed to guard his mountain and to protect the caravans coming from Ered Luin and Thorin worried. He did not worry about his riches, but he worried about the lack of honor and loyalty of those mercenaries. The protection of his people would be in the hands of strangers and Thorin hated the fact that there was nothing else for him to do, but accept the bargain.

'Is there no other choice?' Fili, Thorin´s heir, asked his uncle. 'We cannot trust them.'

'Well, in fact we can.' Balin sighed in defeat. 'They fight for the one who pays them, it is that simple. King Dario pays them and ordered them to protect this mountain and its inhabitants and that they will do.'

'What if someone pays them more?' Fili asked with a frown. 'They will switch sides faster than we can call for arms.'

'Who would even be able to pay them more than us?' Balin looked at Thorin in worry. 'If king Dario broke his word, we still had enough gold that we could pay a battalion of immortals for thousands of years and still be rich. That should not be a problem. By the way, what did the king want for his soldiers in return?'

'Rhun is starving.' Bilbo stated sadly. 'I spoke to one of the merchants last month. Their fields are wasting away, their crops are foul and the people grow desperate. We should give them some of our food in return, we do not have much yet, but maybe it would be a first step to a strong diplomatic relationship to the eastern realm.'

'The king did not ask for food.' Thorin crossed his arms in front of his chest. 'He only wants gold.'

'But…..' Bilbo saw the frown on Thorin´s face and started to worry. The goldsickness had disappeared after the battle and he was sure that Thorin had been victorious over the curse, but sometimes he was afraid that the strain of rebuilding his kingdom for his kin could be too much and throw him back into the golden claws of the dragon´s curse. 'Will you give it to them?'

Thorin´s expression grew softer as he looked at his friend. 'I already made this mistake once – I held the gold above all, above loyalty, above friendship and above honor. I will never make that mistake again. If the king wants gold, he shall have it.'

Thorin winced as he saw the relieved expressions on the faces of his company. He knew that he had to earn their trust again, but he wished that he had never betrayed it in the first place. Now, their safety and the safety of this mountain and his kin was his first priority.

0

'Sire, you really want to trade our military power to the dwarves of Erebor?' king Darios old advisor had looked at his king with wide eyes.  
'Not our lowly soldiers, our immortals' Dario grinned as he had turned toward the advisor. 'I will offer two hundred of our immortals to king Thorin for a small amount of his dwarven gold and he will accept. His cousin, lord Dain, has suffered high losses in battle, his soldiers cannot protect his realm as well as the Lonely Mountain. King Thorins people have to travel the wild once again, from Ered Luin to Erebor. The road is dangerous – I have seen to it myself, actually. The king of Erebor will have no other choice, than to accept my generous offer. He will need my immortals and their cavalry.´  
'I do not think that this is wise...' the advisor had dared to say, but his king would not have it.  
'I did not ask for your opinion!' the king had roared and had slammed his fist onto the marble table. ´I will present my immortals to king Thorin myself. I want to see the gold that I will get in exchange for my generosity.´

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Thorin II Oakenshield, king under the mountain, frowned as he looked at the dwarven messenger. Over two hundred men from the east moved towards his mountain, most of them heavily armoured and on horses. According to their messenger, they had come in peace, as their king had said. King Dario even accompanied them himself, but Thorin still did not trust his word. If they wanted war, he would have to shut the gates and wait for his cousin to come for his aid – again. And the gates were still not fully rebuild after their costly battle. They would not last a day against a full scale attack. Thorin clenched his teeth in annoyance. He had barely a hundred dwarves under his mountain, most of them craftsdwarves and only some were military trained. His own king´s guard were dwarves of his loyal company, two out of the thirteen loyal friends and kin who had followed him through countless perils. Dwalin and Dori had taken over the duties as the king´s guard and Dwalin´s brother Balin stood by his king as a loyal advisor. It was him who warned Thorin to be careful.  
'Thorin, the people of Rhun are not to be trusted.´Balin spoke freely, for only Thorin´s closest of kin was present. His nephews, Fili and Kili, as well as his master spy Nori and his brother Ori were in the room with them. And at Thorin´s side stood a hobbit – it was Bilbo Baggins, the company´s burglar, who had decided to stay in Erebor until it was an established and powerful kingdom again. His loyalty, his friendship and his clever mind were held above everything else by the king and he trusted him blindly. It was the hobbit who could moderate the king´s temper and who could talk reason when the stubbornness of dwarves would ruin any form of negotiation. He was considered kin by the dwarves of Thorin´s company and even the dwarves of the Iron Hills began to respect the hobbit from the Shire for his service and his loyalty.  
'Dwalin and Dori will be in the throne room with me.´Thorin informed his advisors. 'This is all the protection I need.´

'Maybe we should show more caution. We know only little about the men of Rhun. ' Bilbo insisted with a smile. 'I may already have an idea.´

0

When the king of Rhun entered the mountain, he almost wanted to turn around again. The stench was almost overwhelming and it was cold and inhospitable near the broken gate. He told his small army to stay outside, only the captain of the immortals was to follow him into the mountain. An old dwarf with a white beard and a kind face greeted them and bowed deeply.  
'Balin, at your service.' he spoke with an heavy dwarvish accent.  
'King Dario, ruler of Rhun and the Eastern provinces.' Dario did not bow, for he would bow to no dwarf. 'I believe that I have business with the king under the mountain. Please, lead the way.´

The old dwarf, Balin, bowed again, this time with a more reserved expression and led the way deeper into the mountain.  
Dario gasped as he was led into a huge hall full of pillars, some broken and some cracked, but still very impressive. At the end of the hall was a tall throne, its headpiece broken and its pedestal ruined. Dario almost sneered at the dwarf sitting on the broken throne. How could a king even dareto greet his guests on a throne which reflected the state of his own broken kingdom? The king of Rhun sighed and showed his best smile. He wanted his gold.  
'King Thorin, I feel delighted and outmost honored to set foot inside of your glorious mountain.' Dario smiled at the dwarf´s frown. ´I feel even more honored that you accepted my offer.´

The frown on the dwarf´s face deepened and he still did not speak. Dario grew nervous, but in his arrogance, he did not even look at the dwarves standing right and left of the throne. He did not see a black haired dwarf in rich clothing and a furious glare stand on the left side and he did not see the hobbit at his side, who already saw his negotiation plans slip through his fingers.

0

Thorin sneered in disgust as he watched the king walk towards the throne. One immortal followed him in a respectful distance; he moved gracefully and held his masked face up with pride. The masks of the immortals were showing horrible and frightening grimaces, this one was wearing a golden mask with a mouth that was deformed into a snarl and a frown that matched Thorin´s own.  
'Well, look at that, this immortal has your frown.´ Bilbo stated in an amused tone. The hobbit stood behind his king and watched their guests with interest.  
Thorin only rolled his eyes, but he could not be angry at his friend´s remark. Nothing Bilbo could ever say would make him turn his back on his friend again, that, Thorin had sworn. He considered himself lucky to have gained the hobbit´s forgiveness after he had fallen under the curse of Durin while reclaiming Erebor. He still felt ashamed by his actions at the gate of Erebor, cursing his allies and almost killing his loyal burglar for hiding his birth right from him in times of peril.

Thorin´s attention was drawn back to the king of Rhun, who looked at the throne of Erebor with barely contained disgust. Thorin knew that it would take a very long time to rebuild Erebor and turn it into the splendid kingdom of old, but the eastern king´s open disrespect for his kingdom and himself made Thorin furious. But Thorin did not sit on the throne.  
Gloin was sitting on the throne, his beard perfectly braided and shining, his armour shimmering in the light of the torches and his expression stony. Bilbo had suggested that they should use Gloin as a decoy, to gather some information about the foreign king and to be able to watch him closely. Thorin should watch the king without being watched and judged himself. But he did not like what he saw. He could see the greed gleam in the eyes of the king of Rhun. A gleam he had seen himself while looking into a mirror many months before. He could also see the disrespect in Dario's bearing and the dismissal in his actions.  
King Dario was falling into the trap. Bilbo had stated that the king of Rhun was too sure about having the high ground in this bargain and he should be taught a lesson. Not recognising the true king of Erebor would be a disgrace, an embarassing diplomatic slip. Thorin smiled as king Dario began to speak to Gloin, mistaking him for the king because he sat on the throne.

It was the immortal, who surprised them all. He was standing behind his king, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was not armed, because he as well as the king had to enter the throne room unarmed and nobody could tell wether he felt insecure about it or not. The mystery around this man was one of the things which fuelled the legend of the immortals. Nobody really knew them and nobody could read them.

Bilbo watched him closely and could see his head move as he looked at each and everyone of them. He could feel a cold tickle as the immortal´s stare landed on him for a while longer than on the others. But then, the immortal looked at Thorin. Slowly, his bearing changed and Bilbo could see him looked at Gloin and then back at Thorin.

Bilbo gasped as the immortal man gracefully walked past his king, past Gloin and kneeled in front of Thorin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for your reviews and your support, I've missed you guys and I am so happy to see you following my story:)**

 **The secret will be revealed in chapter 3 ^^**

 **The words between " " are sign language.**

Thorin looked down at the kneeling immortal in annoyance. This soldier had recognized him as the true king of Erebor, but he had also embarrassed his own king. Then again, the immortals were mercenaries, they were only loyal to payment and not loyal to a person. Thorin ignored the kneeling man and stepped around him, facing the king of Rhun who looked at him with an irritated expression.

'King Dario.' Thorin stood straight and did not lower his gaze. 'Welcome to Erebor.'

King Dario needed a while to focus on the new situation, he sneered at his captain to stand up and then turned to the king of Erebor. The decoy, the red haired dwarf, stood up from the throne and bowed deeply before the real king. Crowns were exchanged and then the raven haired dwarf sat down on his throne. His arrogant expression angered Dario more than the embarrassment, but he tried to stay calm in sake of the gold. The captain of the immortals returned to his place behind his king.

'King Thorin.' The king of Rhun spoke coldly. 'Would you mind explaining to me why we were presented with such a sharade?'

'This kingdom had to face various threats, king Dario.' Thorin remained calm.

'And you did not trust me.' the king of Rhun sneered. 'Dwarves are truly mistrusting people…'

Thorin´s frown deepened threateningly and the other dwarves, as well as the hobbit and the immortal held their breaths.

'…..but then again, who can blame you?' Dario continued with a fake smile. 'This mountain and its vast riches have attracted a fire drake, orcs and thieves over decades…..and your army is still in Ered Luin. I have not seen many dwarves during our walk to the throne room – which brings me to our little bargain.'

Thorin´s frown had deepened the longer the king of Rhun spoke and his fellow dwarves grumbled curses into their beards, but as Bilbo Baggins stepped forward, the hall turned quiet.

'I believe this is where the immortals come in.' Bilbo looked at Thorin and then back to king Dario at Thorin´s nod. 'What do you want in exchange for the service of your men? Word has spread that your lands are suffering under a plague. The land around the mountain is fertile due to the ashes left from dragon fire. Maybe a new trade route could be established? Your people could exchange some goods against food.'

King Dario´s expression froze. He wanted the gold, not food for his people. He glared at the hobbit, ignored him and looked at the king over his head.

'King Thorin, I think we should put up the contract for this bargain in private.' Dario stated arrogantly. He saw the furious faces of the dwarves and wondered why they trusted their business to a simple halfling. Dwarves usually never trusted anyone outside of their race, but this halfling seemed to have their full respect.

'What we have to say is for everyone here to hear.' Thorin remained calm, but his hands clenched to fists. 'Now, king of Rhun, tell us what you ask in exchange for your immortals.'

Thorin knew the answer as soon as King Dario´s eyes began to gleam in greed and he felt disgusted by the man. He was but a thief in disguise of a king. But what choice did he have? He had once made the mistake of hoarding his gold and not wanting to part from a single coin and he had almost lost everything. Balin was right, there was so much gold in the treasury that Gloin would take forever to count it. He had enough gold, but he did not want the eastern king to get his greedy paws onto it, less than ever when he was offered crops, food and trade while his people were starving. But Erebor needed military support and Thorin knew that their allies were only few. Thranduil had turned his back on Erebor after the battle and even the starlight gems had not changed his mind. Thorin had personally seen to it, that the elven kings jewels were delivered to him, but their relationship was still strained. The elves had vanished into their dark forest and had not returned. The men of Dale were busy rebuilding their city out of the ruins and needed every man to guard their own city and work on the fields. Dain had retreated to the Iron Hills and had left a few dwarves in Erebor for protection, but it was not enough. If anyone decided to launch a full scale attack on Erebor, the dwarves would not be able to defend the city on their own and this was unbearable to Thorin´s pride. Thorin looked at the captain of the immortals in utter mistrust. Could he really trust this man and his mercenaries with the lives of his kin?

As if the immortal man had read his thoughts, he stepped forward and held up his hands. At first, Thorin did not understand and Dwalin stepped forward to shield his king from any possible attack. But then, the immortal started to move his hands. He used sign language to communicate, he did in fact use some Iglishmek signs, but it wall all a mixture of Iglishmek and the sign language of men.

Thorin frowned at the king of Rhun, who looked at his captain in annoyance but did not step in to translate.

'Bilbo, would you please get Ori for me? He will be able to translate….this.' Thorin asked his friend and watched him leave only to return with Ori in the blink of an eye. It seemed as if the scribe had waited in front of the door for some information. With a warm smile towards Ori, Thorin gestured the immortal to continue.

"My men and I are proud to be of service, king Thorin."

Ori translated the sign language to his king and the others in the room.

"I am aware, that you do not trust us and that you are reluctant to place the faith of your kin into our hands."

Thorin sneered at the obvious, but Bilbo began to watch the immortal with growing interest. He could see, that Fili and Kili also eyed the immortal man curiously, standing at the far right side of the throne.

"But let me assure you, king Thorin, that we pledge our loyalty to you and your kin. We will honor that arrangement between Rhun and Erebor."

Dwalin snorted loudly at that and the immortal snapped his head towards him. Even with the mask, it was obvious that he shot him a death glare.

'There is no honor in a mercenary.' Thorin retorted and looked back at the immortal with a cold stare. Bilbo could see something change in the bearing of the man, slightly slumped shoulders and his gaze turned downwards for a short moment. But then he continued as if nothing had happened.

'Why should I trust you?' Thorin needed no translation from Ori, for the man was not deaf, but simply did not speak. Maybe, this was the only language he mastered.

"Because you have no other choice."

Thorin growled at the man´s honest answer and Fili and Kili murmured in protest.

"When your people from Ered Luin will join you, you will have enough military power to protect your people, king Thorin. the man continued. Until then, you will have to rely on me and my men."

'We should get the caravans moving as soon as possible, then.' Dwalin grumbled and earned a reprehensive look from Bilbo.

'It is decided, then.' King Dario rubbed his hands. 'As you can see, the immortals are the perfect soldiers. You give them an order and they do not even speak up in protest. But their war cries are legend.'

Thorin could almost hear Bilbo´s inward gasp at the king´s disrespect towards the immortal, but it the man remained silent and still, as if he had not heard. He looked at the dwarves at his side and looked into their faces. Dwalin shot death glares towards the immortal, Dori frowned at the eastern king, Balin looked at some point in the far back of the hall, Ori and Bilbo both eyed the immortal curiously and Fili and Kili tried to keep straight faces while whispering at each other. Kili looked at the immortal with an expression of confusion and curiosity, while his older brother seemed to be highly amused. But this was not the time for amusement. As Thorin turned back to their guests, he took a deep breath.

'How much gold do you….need?'

0

The prize for the service of the immortals were ten chests full of gold and three chests full of gems. Thorin and his dwarves knew of course, that it was way more than Dario was paying the immortals, but he was a greedy and selfish man, they could only hope that some of these riches would at least pay for some food for his people on their way back. King Dario nodded greedily and expressed his gratitude before turning away from the mountain. He did not want to stay longer than necessary and Thorin was relieved that he did not have to be a good host to the arrogant king. Without looking back, Dario and his royal guard marched back towards Rhun, with two heavy carts full of riches.

Dwalin and Thorin winced as the hall behind the gates began to swarm with immortals. They did not hear one single order, but they moved swiftly and efficiently. One hundred of them made ready to ride for Ered Luin to protect the first caravan which was to head for Erebor. The other hundred made ready to guard the mountain. Their horses would stay in the stables, which had previously been occupied by the rams of Erebor. It was a little crowded and the ceiling was quite low, but they would manage.

Bilbo watched the captain of the immortals speak to his second in command, who would ride to Ered Luin. They were not using sign language, so Bilbo figured that the immortal could indeed speak. But why did he not speak to them? He felt his tookish side twitch with curiosity, but he had to be careful. Who knew what secrets this man was hiding.

During the day, the immortals began to secure Erebors gate and to patrol the outside of the mountain to search for cracks which might lead into the mountain. They were split up into groups of four, three immortals and one dwarf. The dwarf was functioning as a guide during the first days, so that none of the immortals would get lost in or outside the mountain. The captain of the immortals showed his gratitude by bowing his head towards Thorin as they planned their future cooperation in securing the mountain.

'You will speak to my nephews, Fili and Kili, in the future.' Thorin looked at the immortal, who was only little taller than him, much to his own surprise. 'They will be responsible for the security of our home from now on.'

Thorin would have loved to take care of this himself, but as a king he had to deal with way more unpleasant things. Diplomatic relations. These two words made Thorin´s skin crawl. He was no diplomat, he was not even polite. Thorin hoped that Bilbo would stay for a while longer to support Balin in his aim to rebuild the diplomatic relations to Erebor´s neighbours, which Thorin and his grandfather ruined in the past. Clenching his fists, Thorin almost wished to be a mere blacksmith in Ered Luin again. He had all that he had ever wanted, he had his home back, his throne and his people would have their own kingdom again. But still, Thorin felt uneasy, as if it was not right. Maybe I should have died in battle, he thought more than once. But was Fili even ready to take his place on the throne of Erebor if he had died in battle?

With a glance towards his nephews, Thorin watched his older nephew talking to the immortal captain – and Ori – but Kili was the one who caught his attention. Kili looked at the immortal with a funny expression, one that Thorin had already seen before – in Rivendell. Kili had looked at the elves that way, with an interested, but also confused expression. He would have to talk to Dis when she arrived, for her son showed way too much interest in these people – especially the males. Thorin did not mind Kili being attracted to males, that was very common amongst dwarves, but he did find it quite amusing that the lad could not tell males and females apart. He also knew that Kili in fact liked females, he prayed to Mahal that his nephew would quickly fall out of love with that red haired elf from Mirkwood. Thorin felt grateful towards her, since she had stood by him and his nephews in battle together with prince Legolas, but the thought of his nephew and her…..Thorin forced himself to not continue this thought even further.

But mistaking a male for a female could cause diplomatic trouble and Thorin did not need another dwarf who put a foot in his mouth every now and then in addition to himself.

'Kili seems to be interested in our guest.' Thorin jumped as Bilbo addressed him from the side. He always forgot how light hobbits were on their feet.

Thorin had to smirk as he saw that Kili continued to watch the immortal with an expression which looked like the one of a curious puppy. The immortal had gotten his final orders from Fili and nodded at the king´s nephews. He made for the gate, to join the group of twenty immortals, who would guard the gate day and night until it was repaired completely and could be shut at night.

Thorin and Bilbo joined Fili, Kili and Ori and heard Ori chuckle.

'Really, Kili?'

'Really what?' Thorin looked at his nephew with a frown hiding his amusement.

'This one scares me.' Kili looked after the captain of the immortals.

'They are all wearing masks, what is so special about that one?' Ori asked and also followed the immortal with his gaze.

'I feel uneasy around him.' Kili tried to defend himself. 'It´s just a feeling, the way he moves, the way he "talks" and everything about him….something is not right. And why does he not speak, he is not mute, I saw him talking to the other immortals before.'

'Oh, I see.' Dwalin joined them. 'Do you think that he is an elf maid, too?'

'Very funny.' Kili muttered as the group began to chuckle loudly.

'Well, the not speaking part is interesting indeed.' Bilbo tried to change the subject to Kili´s favor, but the dwarves would not have it.

'Nah, maybe his voice is as ugly as his real face.' Dwalin roared and glared at the immortals which passed them. 'I would love to know what kind of face they hide behind those masks and if they are as hideous as rumors say.'

'I do not care how they look.' Thorin shook his head and shot a last distrustfull glare at the mercenaries. 'They need to protect this mountain and our kin from Ered Luin. They could be the fairest or the ugliest people in Middle Earth, I could not care less. Come now, we have a lot of work to do.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the OC, hope you like :)**

Loaren rode behind the king of Rhun and wished that she would not have to stay in Erebor for too long. She was a child of the sun, she needed its warmth and the feeling of being alive. She hated the cold and the dark, for it made her feel dead. Looking back to the East, Loaren had to admit, that her old home had become cold and dark although it was no mountain. The shadow had grown stronger during the last weeks and the people were scared. Not even the immortals and their myth could stand again a threat that was not elusive.

With a deep sigh, Loaren pulled her golden mask over her face. She liked to hide behind the mask, which granted her more freedom as any other item could. As a woman, she had only little worth in her culture, but her fighting skills and her intelligent mind had made her earn the respect of her men during the last years. They were loyal to her, as loyal as they all were towards the people who paid them.

Loaren was in fact the bastard daughter of king Dario or to be more exact, the outcast bastard daughter who had to serve her father in a different way now, living the lowly life of a simple soldier in the eyes of her father. In truth, Loaren loved this life and did not miss one day of her life as a priviledged princess. Her father had tried to force her into marriage, but she had resisted. She had repelled every suitor and had even broken a few noses, until not one man in Rhun wanted to marry her. In the end, the king had threatened to disinherit her and banish her from his kingdom if she not married the man he chose for her. Loaren had still resisted and had been forced into exile. During that exile, she joined the immortals and remained unrecognised thanks to the masks they were all wearing. She had managed to reach a high rank within the immortals and was accepted by them as their leader, despite her gender which was finally revealed, after many years. Her mentor, a man from the far east, heavily tattooed and very traditional, was her second in command. His respect meant more to her than any emotion her father would show towards her and she returned to her former kingdom as the leader of a group of deadly mercenaries to face her king. King Dario, calculating as he was, had chosen to show her no mercy, but Loaren had not expected any. So she accepted the punishment of being sent into the dark and cold dwarven kingdom as the captain of the deadly mercenaries from the east; she only felt bad for her men, who had to suffer because of her. No, Loaren shook her head, her men had to suffer because of the king's greed.

As the Lonely Mountain appeared in front of the delegation in all its glory, Loaren closed her eyes in defeat. The gate of Erebor was gaping at them, threatening and dark. Taking a deep breath and taking a last glance towards the warming sun, Loaren followed her king through the gate.

With her face hidden behind her mask, Loaren watched her surroundings closely, as well as the dwarves which inhabited this mountain. The dwarf who greeted them was friendly and polite and Loaren flinched as king Dario dismissed his politeness so rudely. With her eyes darted to the floor in shame, Loaren followed the dwarf and her king into the throne room. She was grateful that the mask also hid her emotion, for she could look at the wonderful architecture in wonder without showing how impressed she was. Many of the pillars were broken, as well as the statues and even the throne, but after the attack of the dragon, this damage seemed minimal. The green stone gleamed warmly in the light of the torches and the walls reflected a warmth which had a calming effect on Loaren. It seemed as if the mountain was not as cold as it looked from the outside.

Loaren soon focused her attention on the dwarf who was sitting on the throne. His hair and impressive beard were of a red colour, like lord Dain´s, which was understandable, for they were cousins. But there was something about the dwarf that bothered Loaren, it was his bearing which made her suspisious. He showed an arrogant pride worthy of a dwarven king, but he did not radiate the untouchable royal charisma which Loaren had expected. Trying not to move her head too much, Loaren looked at the other dwarves in the throne room. The guards were brutal looking dwarves with grim expressions. The left guard was tall for a dwarf and bald. He had as many tattoos as her mentor and the same bearing of an experienced warrior. The other dwarf had grey hair which was braided comlicatedly, which told Loaren that he was very vain, but then again, all dwarves were vain when it came to their beards. During many skirmishes with the dwarves of the Iron Hills, Loaren had learned that dwarves were not to underestimate. Despite their smaller size, they were fierce fighters and worthy opponents to the immortals. Balin, the dwarf who had greeted them at the gates, stood to the left of the throne and exchanged a quick glance with a tall dwarf with black hair and blue eyes, who was standing on the far left. Loaren was impressed by his aura and his bearing and she could not look away. There was something about him, something that called out to her. She was so captured that she did not see the small hobbit who stood behind said dwarf and watched her closely. He could see her own bearing changing from relaxed to alerted. Before Loaren fully understood what she was doing herself, she moved towards the dwarf with the black hair and saw him frown at her. She prayed to the Gods that her instincts had proven her right and knelt down on one knee in front of the dwarf. She could hear various gasp behind her and hoped that she had not forfit her life. But she was sure that she was kneeling in front of the real king.

0

As the real king was revealed, Loaren walked back to her place behind her father. She knew that she had embarrassed him, but she did not care. His arrogance and disrespect towards the dwarves angered her and she wished that the negotiations would not take long. Dario should just take his gold and leave. She watched the dwarf king carefully and could see the doubt in his eyes. He knew that he had no chance but to accept her king´s offer, but she could tell that he was reluctant. He had no reason to trust her or her men, on the contrary – she knew that the reputation of the immortals was not a good one. They were respected for their skills as warriors, but nothing else. No honor, no emotion and no loyalty could be found in an immortal, this was what people were thinking.

Maybe, the king´s distrust would save her from a life under this mountain, but suddenly, Loaren was not sure if she wanted to go back to Rhun. Life in service of her father was nearly unbearable, his greed and his egocentric rule were hard to bear and she had to watch her people suffer every day. The dwarven king had honor and a heart, Loaren could see so much, even if he hid his true self behind the deep frown. Loaren could tell that he despised her father for the treatement of his people and that Dario´s greed disgusted him. Loaren had thought dwarves to be greedy all her life, but king Thorin seemed to value other things above gold. Things like friendship and loyalty. His advisors were more than just his subordinates, they were his friends and his confidants. Loaren had never witnessed such a relationship between a king and his people and that made her feelings about staying in Erebor shift towards the positive side. She wanted to step forward and offer her services to the king, but in the last second she stopped herself. If she talked, her gender would be revealed and she would lose the protection and anonymity of her mask.

She remembered that dwarves spoke a sign language called Iglishmek and decided that she should give it a try. The young scribe who was called in to translate could help, but Loaren noticed that the hobbit who stood at the king´s side could understand her as well. He smiled at her forwardness before the scribe had even finished translating.

Loaren was surprised about her father´s discretion, but then she realized that he probably only acted that way to secure his amount of gold. Female warriors would probably mean less gold in exchange. Loaren hated the old fashioned thinking of her people. Females were bound to the house and the family, they were inferior to men and had to bow to their orders. Serving in the military was only possible if the female was an outcast – like herself. She had a few women in her troop, all of them were former thieves, whores and throatcutters, but they had found a more honorable profession in the lines of the immortals. Is it truly better to be a mercenary than a thief? Loaren banned the dark thoughts from her mind. This was not the time for selfdoubts.

Loaren did not know much about the culture of the dwarves, but she knew that there were only few females and that those few were even more protected than the gold in this mountain. Never would a male dwarf allow his sister or daughter to fight alongside him in battle and maybe also die alongside him. Losing a female was a disgrace to a dwarf and Loaren did not want to oppose their way of thinking with her presence. She only hoped that they would never find out.

0

In the end, the negociations had run well, but Loaren had not said another word. She had noticed that the scribe had looked at her with huge eyes once in a while during negotiations, but she had not dared to look back at him. Her mask frightened people, she knew that and she did not want to scare him - or her. Loaren was not quite sure about the scribe's gender.

It was agreed that the horses would find a warm and comfortable place in the royal stables, which had been occupied by rams before the dragon had killed them all. The stables were spacious enough to fit all the horses and the immortals would see to it that their horses were kept fed and were looked after.

The immortals would not be in need of own quarters, for half of them would be on the road between Erebor and Ered Luin and the other half would secure the mountain. They would sleep in the lower halls. Only Loaren and her second in command got own rooms, but mostly because they needed a study for planning and writing their reports.

Loaren sighed as she stepped into her room. It was dark and dusty and there were only two torches on the wall. The room was big enough to contain a middle sized bed, which looked like a double sized bed for dwarves, a desk and a small bathroom with an own drainage. There was no window and Loaren immediately felt depressed. She would not stay in her rooms for a moment longer than she had to.

King Dario was to leave soon and Loaren slowly walked to the gate to watch him leave. Her real expression under the mask showed less emotion than the golden grimace, she had stopped caring for her father long ago. The fact that she felt that way almost scared her. Her mother had died long ago, she did not even remember her and her father was the only family she had left. Still, she felt relief as she watched him ride away without looking back, behind him the carts full of gold and his armed royal guard.

When the caravan was gone, Loaren took a deep breath and looked up into the sky – she would miss the sun and the wind on her skin. Ironically, the wind did not even reach her skin because of the armor and the mask. With a sad smile, Loaren turned her back to the outside world and moved into the dark.

0

'Hello...you there...immortal captain...oh bother...´Loaren stopped in her tracks when she heard someone call out to her a few days later. The hobbit, Bilbo Baggins was his name, ran towards her with an almost embarassed smile on his face. ´I am so sorry, but I have not caught your name before.´

Loaren had to smile at the hobbit´s skill in diplomacy, but she would not fall for the hobbit´s clever words and his alleged innocence. He was not the only skilled diplomat and observer. Fixing the hobbit with her gaze, Loaren started speaking.

"My name is of no importance and I know that you understand me."

Bilbo tried to not look caught, but then he smiled.

'Yes...sorry about that. How did you know that I understand sign language?' Bilbo asked.

"Your eyes betray you."

'Well, you found a way around that.' Bilbo looked at her mask and still managed to sound friendly.

Loaren was not in the mood for small talk, she could see that the hobbit meant no harm, but she had work to do. And, to be honest, she feared that the hobbit would find out her secret.

"What do you want, master hobbit?"

Bilbo smiled at that and held up his hands. ´I apologise, I am just curious. I have never met an immortal before. You should know that I...we...are really grateful for your service.´

"It is nice of you to say that, but that is a lie." Loaren smiled ruefully. "The dwarves do not trust us and for good reason. We are mercenaries, we fight for the one who pays us."

Loaren winced at her own words, but she had learned that it was easier to keep people at a distance instead of forming relationships or even friendships. Easier for them and easier for her.

'But as long as the king pays, you will be loyal?' Bilbo did not seem to be apalled by her behaviour.

"Of course." Loaren sighed. She needed to leave before the hobbit broke through her defence. King Dario paid them well, but the prize he had taken from the dwarven king had been ten times as much.

'That is good to know, we...the dwarves of Erebor need you and your men.´Bilbo looked up at Loaren and she could see earnest worry in his eyes.

"I hope that the king values your loyalty." Loaren made ready to walk away and this time the hobbit did not hold her back. But she could feel his gaze in her back as she walked away.

'How did you know that king Thorin was not the dwarf sitting on the throne?´ Bilbo called out after her.

Loaren smiled under her mask and turned around one last time and her answer made Bilbo chuckle.

"He is every inch a king."


	4. Chapter 4

'He did what?!' Dis roared as she held Thorin´s letter in her hands. The raven which had brought her the letter jumped at her roar.

'My brother sent me mercenaries from the East to escort us home? Is he out of his bloody mind?' Dis began pacing in her room. She was alone in her room, but she had to blow off some steam and she would not yell at an innocent dwarf in her rage. Turning towards the raven, she pointed her finger at it.

'You can tell my brother, the king under the mountain, that I will not open my gates for those immortals and that I will not let these mercenaries get their hands on our kin! I will rather rot in here than risk the life of the dwarves who trust me to lead them home with those immortals….that blockhead!'

The raven nodded and hurried to leave the Blue Mountains. He had known that lady Dis was a terrifying dwarf, but he had never met her in person before. Anyway, he decided to cut the last sentence when he presented his message to the king.

0

In Erebor, Loaren had found a way to show her face and to wander around in the sun in her free time. Erebor and Dale held a vast exchange and men, women and children were visiting the mountain on a daily basis. At the beginning, they suspiciously watched her immortals which guarded the gate, but after a few days, they started to get used to the mercenaries. The children even started to feel safe around the immortals and some crafted masks which resembled the ones worn by the immortals, just with happy faces. Loaren had laughed the first time she had seen a little boy stand beside one of her men at the gate, his mask showing a big and happy grin. The immortal had merely looked down at the small boy, his bearing not betraying his feelings, but since the boy was still alive, people figured that the man had not been annoyed by it. Some young girls tried to provoke a reaction from the guards by talking to them, but the immortals took their duty seriously and stayed still, much like the dwarven statues which were rebuild to flank the new gate.

Loaren grinned as she walked by a young blonde girl from Dale, who tried to flirt with the immortal guard. With a wide grin, Loaren blinked at the immortal – who was actually one of her female fighters below the mask – and took a walk to Dale. She had told her men and women to feel free to visit Dale in their free time, but they should always make sure that the dwarves would not notice that the normal looking men and woman were actually their new guard. In simple clothes and showing their faces, her immortals could wander the lands undetected and enjoy the daylight. Living inside of the mountain was not as horrible as they had thought at the beginning, but nevertheless, most of Loaren´s immortals needed some fresh air and the sunlight once in a while. They took the horses out every two days to grant them the same luxury, but today was Loaren´s free day to do whatever she wanted. Dressed in a simple brown dress and with her hair falling over her back in chaotic waves, Loaren made it to Dale undetected. Walking down Stone Street, Loaren noticed that some of the people of Dale looked at her in wonder. She realized that it had to be curiosity, for she was no woman from Dale, but she also knew that some of them were staring at the long scar on the left side of her face. It was a light and thin white scar, but it was visible on her naturally tanned skin. It moved straight down from her forehead, over her temple and down to her jaw, near the hairline. It had been a dwarf from the Iron Hills, who had swung his axe at her and had almost killed her in a moment of negligence from her side. Loaren wore the scar as a reminder of what could happen when you let your guard down. She did not care that the scar made her look ugly and sometimes she could even smile about the irony that their masks were supposed to hide their hideous faces from the world. Little did she know, that the scar made her more interesting than ugly. Loaren was a beautiful woman, even though she did not care about her looks at all. She only had little curves, but she moved gracefully, almost like a dancer. Her mentor had always told her that she should learn to move more masculine, for her movements alone might betray her true gender to an observant onlooker. Loaren had figured out a way to move differently when she was wearing her armor, she was sure of it. Until now, nobody had seen through her disguise. Loaren looked like most of the women in the Eastern parts of Middle Earth, her skin was lightly tanned, she had long brown hair, brown eyes and a small nose. The only thing which made her looks uncommon in Rhun were her hair and the shape of her face. While the women of Run all had straight hair and round faces, her hair was curly and she had high cheekbones and a slim face. Some said that her mother had been a slave from the West and that she had inherited some of her looks, but Loaren could not even remember how her mother looked like and her father had never talked to her about her mother. With a deep sigh, Loaren straightened her back and decided to ignore the curious glances from the people of Dale. With a smile, she turned her face towards the sun and sat down on the ruins of a small house almost on top of Dale. King Bard had started to rebuild Dale soon after the Battle of the Five Armies, he had not started with the palace, but with the homes of his people. From the outer walls to the top, the city was rebuilt and Bard watched over the rebuilding himself. Loaren wished that her father was such a good king to his people, but she knew that they were still starving. Many villagers had even left Rhun for the West and hoped to flee from the shadow and the hunger in their own lands. Soon, her father would be a king of nothing. But Loaren and her immortals had not forgotten their home. With the payment from king Dario, they paid merchants to bring carts of food to Rhun. Loaren had told them to take the smaller roads to the East, for the main road would be controlled by guards loyal to the king and the food would never make it to the people. Even as the leader of the immortals, Loaren felt responsible for the faith of her people and she suffered with them. She knew that her men and women felt the same. With her back against the warm stone wall, Loaren looked East, to her home. She could see the grey horizon and the shadow spread over Rhun, even from here.

0

Ori and Bilbo Baggins met for an afternoon tea in the kitchen of Erebor, they had begun to do so after they had started to rebuild the library and rewrite some of the books which had been burned by Smaug. On the side, Bilbo also tried to help Thorin reaching out to his allies. The bond between Erebor and Dale was strong already, although Bard still did not trust Thorin. But the dwarven king did everything he could to pay his dues, Bilbo could tell. Thorin even swallowed his pride in more than one occasion, which Bilbo admired greatly. But the elves were a hard piece of work. Mirkwood still did not acknowledge Thorin as the king of Erebor, Thranduil simply ignored the fact that Erebor existed and lord Elrond of Rivendell watched over Thorin from afar in mistrust. The elves of Lothlorien had sent their regards, but not more. Thorin´s only allies at the moment were the Iron Hills and Dale.

'How many dwarven kingdoms are left, Ori?' Bilbo asked his friend in search for more allies for Erebor.

'Well, we have the Iron Hills, Erebor, the Blue Mountains, the Red Mountains and the Grey Mountains left.' Ori sighed. 'But the dwarven cities in the Red and Grey Mountains are small and weak. They are merely miners villagers.'

'Could we not invite them to live in Erebor?' Bilbo mused. 'They are safer here and they would not be on their own. In these times it should be wise for the dwarves to stick together.'

'It would be wise, probably….' Ori shook his head. 'But the dwarves will not move to Erebor. They are of different clans and the clans are bound to their own mountains. You know, dwarven pride and all…..'

Bilbo snorted and let his head fall back onto the back of the chair. There was nobody left, but the men and Bilbo did not like that.

'And how many dwarves will join us when the caravans will arrive from Ered Luin?' he further asked Ori.

'A few thousands, maybe ninethousand.' Ori answered and jumped at Bilbos surprised cry.

'Only ninethousand? All together?' Bilbo looked at Ori with wide eyes. He had not known that Durin´s folk were only so few.

'Many thousands died when Smaug attacked.' Ori explained. 'Some died on the road, some in the villages of men. And some might still die on their way here. The roads are still dangerous and the immortals are only hundred men strong. There are still thousands of orcs out there.'

'Hmmm…' Bilbo let his thoughts linger in the Shire for a moment. He still missed his books and his armchair, but they would still be there when he returned – at least he hoped so. But Ori was right, the road was too dangerous at the moment, he could not return, even if he wanted. But he did not want to return to the Shire yet, there was still so much to do.

´Diiiiiisssssss!´ Thorin´s yell from the back of the library and the nervous thrashing of raven´s wings made both of them jump and Ori´s cup shattered to the ground.

´Oh dear...´ Bilbo gasped as Thorin came rushing around the corner with a murderous expression. ´What happened?´

`My sister – Dis, daughter of Sif, lady under Mount Stubborn – refuses to open the gates to the immortals and refuses to march north under their protection!´ Thorin fumed.

Bilbo only raised his eyebrows until they almost touched his hairline and looked at Ori, who shrugged his shoulders as if he was not surprised.

´This stubborn piece of dwarf, does she not trust my judgement?´ Thorin began to pace.

´Well...´Ori started, but Thorin interrupted him.

´How am I supposed to get rid of the immortals when she keeps our kin in the Blue Mountains?´ Thorin growled and nervously moved a hand through his hair.

´You could...´ Bilbo sighed as he was also interrupted by Thorin.

´She was always like that, never wasting a thought about her actions, never thinking about what could happen, she always acts irrational and emotional...what?´ Thorin looked at Bilbo as the hobbit started chuckling.

´So...you are adopted, huh?´ Bilbo grinned at Thorin´s aghast face and Ori could not help but snort into his scarf.

´Why would I be...? Very funny.´ Thorin was not in the mood for teasing. ´What are we going to do now?´

´Well, we could...´

´I have to talk to Balin.´ Thorin did not let Bilbo finish and rushed out of the library, banging the door.

Bilbo closed his mouth again and looked at Ori in desperation, who only shrugged his shoulders again.

´Give him a moment.´ Ori suggested and only a few moments later, Thorin stood before them again.

´Balin said that I should talk to you about this.´

In the end, it was Thorin´s idea to ride to the Blue Mountains to personally talk to his sister. He asked Bilbo and Ori to accompany him and planned to make a detour through the Shire to get Bilbo´s books and his armchair.

Dwalin and Dori would also ride with them, as well as the captain of the immortals. Bilbo was incredibly happy to be able to see his home again, but he also looked forward to the journey. This promised to get very interesting.

0

Loaren had just returned to the mountain and had changed into her armor and mask, as she was called to the throne room. In front of the big door, Ori was waiting for her.

The scribe smiled at Loaren as she bowed in greeting and looked at her masked face. He had not seen the immortal often during the last days, but he liked the man. He seemed friendly, although Ori could only interpret his bearing and his gestures. But when the immortal captain was with him or Bilbo, he could see his whole bearing soften. When Dwalin or Thorin were present, the immortal straightened and seemed more like the professional mercenary he was.

"What happened?" Loaren asked Ori.

'Why do you think that something happened?' Ori asked and waited for the guards to give them a sign to enter.

"King Thorin would not want to see me unless something is not to his liking." Loaren sighed and hoped that she was wrong. For some reason, the dwarven king intimidated her and she hated that. Everytime he looked at her, she could feel herself blush and thanked the Gods for her mask.

'We will be assigned on a mission to support your cavalry in the south. But the king will tell you more.' Ori grinned as the immortal stood up in alarm.

"Did something happen to my men?"

'No, everything is alright.' Ori hurried to assure the captain. 'It´s just…..lady Dis, the king´s sister, is not amused about having to trust foreign mercenaries with the lives of her kin.'

Loaren frowned under her mask. She had had dreaded such a reaction, but she had hoped that the king´s sister would at least trust her brother´s judgement.

Ori watched the immortal muse over the news and remembered that there was still one important information missing between them.

'I still do not know your name.' Ori told her softly. 'You can spell out the letters for me if you do not want to speak.'

For some reason, he did not mind the man not speaking anymore. It added to the interesting mystery and Ori was sure that the man had reason to not speak.

Loaren smiled at the dwarf´s clever mind and started to spell out the letters R, E and N.

'Ren?' Ori smiled with relief. 'That´s a good name, very masculine.'

With these words, he turned to open the door to the throne room and Loaren had to bite her lip to not chuckle into her mask. This scribe was just so adorable.


	5. Chapter 5

Thorin´s mood was thunderous as Ori entered the throne room with the captain of the immortals. He wished that Bilbo was there to ease the situation, but the hobbit was happily packing for the journey south. On one hand, Thorin was happy to see Bilbo smiling about the prospect of going home, but on the other hand this just reminded him of the fact that the hobbit had left everything behind to support him, him who did not deserve it. With a deep frown, he turned towards the immortal.

'My sister, lady Dis, refuses to open the gates to your men and will not march north under their protection.' Thorin informed the immortal captain, who only bowed his head in understanding. Apparently, Ori had already told him so, but Thorin had expected a stronger reaction. He was almost pleased as the immortals bearing changed and he seemed more tense. This mask heavily irritated him, he hated it to not see his enemy´s face – but was this man even his enemy? This immortal and his men served Erebor well and even Dwalin had found nothing to critisise. Annoyed, Thorin continued to inform the scribe and the mercenary about his plans.

'I will ride to the south myself, accompanied by master Dwalin, master Dori, master Ori and master Baggins. You will also ride with us and will see to your men.'

„Are my men alright? Where are they now?"

Ori nearly missed the immortal´s signs and hurried to translate.

Thorin frowned at the immortal´s question, but at the same time he asked himself why he was surprised that the captain worried for his men. He would have done the same if the situation was the other way around.

'Your men have taken camp in Bree and are probably scaring Mordor out of the inhabitants.' Thorin grumbled and saw the captain´s hands press into fists. 'I have sent a raven to the mayor of Bree to make sure that they will have lodging and everything else they need.'

This time, the immortal bowed his head in gratitude, but his hands still did not relax. It was the only emotion Thorin could notice about the man and it made him nervous.

'I trust that you will have a second in command under the mountain, who will take over for you as long as we are gone? We will leave first thing tomorrow morning.'

Ori looked at Ren and made ready to translate.

„I will be ready tomorrow."

'Good.' Thorin stood up and left the throne room with Dwalin and Dori on his heels, but he could feel the immortals gaze burning into his back.

0

Loaren had everything prepared by the next morning. She had instructed one of her deputies to take over for her and had packed everything she needed. But still, she was unsettled about the turn of events. It would be extremely difficult to hide her gender on the road. Cursing her bad luck, Loaren applied the usual black stripe of paint over her eyes, so that her skin would not be visible to anyone through the slits of her mask in daylight. She would let them believe that her face was ugly, full of scales or whatever they were thinking. She applied the piece of cloth over her chest, bound her hair up into a tight knot and took a deep breath before she put on the mask which she would not be able to take off for the next few weeks, at least not when the others were around.

She did have to pack a few things which were of a high risk to reveal her gender, she had her towel for her monthly bleeding ready and packed underneath of all her other things, she brought many pieces of cloth for hygiene and hoped that her small company would respect her privacy.

As she walked to the gate, she could see that her horse was already saddled and waiting and that the ponies were made ready by her men as well. Her own horse was only little taller than the ponies, but it was sturdy and fast. The eastern horses were much smaller than the proud and tall horses from the West and especially from Rohan, but they were equally tough and persistent. Loaren would ride at the back, she did not want to ride near the king or his personal guard and she was fine with securing their backs and riding behind the scribe and the hobbit. She had brought a dark cloak to cover her armour and her mask whilst riding, for she did not want to attract more attention to their company than necessary. As she stepped near her horse, she could see that the hobbit was already there and fed apples to the ponies. He was about to give an apple to her horse, but Loaren stopped him by grabbing his wrist and gently pushing him back.

„My horse does not like strangers, he would bite your hand right off."

Bilbo´s eyes widened, but he nodded and put the apple back into his bags.

'Maybe during the journey, he will get to know me better.' the hobbit stated softly and blinked at her.

Loaren smiled sadly. The chances of her horse actually warming up to the hobbit were higher than the dwarf king or his huge bald friend warming up to her. She already dreaded the encounter with the king´s sister, who seemed to be even more mistrusting and hostile towards her people. Loaren wondered how such a fierce dwarf lady could have such gentle sons as Fili and Kili.

She was standing behind her horse as Thorin appared at the gate with Fili and Kili. Fili would take over the reign over the mountain together with Balin and his brother, although Loaren doubted that Kili would be much of help. To her, Kili was still a far from grown up, but she admired his honesty and his skill with the bow. It amused her that he always looked at her with that funny expression, but then again, he was probably just wondering how the "man" behind the man looked like and could not hide his curiosity as well as the others.

Thorin was a different dwarf when he was with his nephews. He smiled and the affection for them made his deep blue eyes shine even more. The way he treated his nephews showed Loaren, that he was not an emotionless king with a heart of stone. She did not mind the frown, she could not even picture him without the frown anymore, but it was nice to know that he could smile. Loaren shook her head in confusion; when had she begun to feel more duty towards the king? And why did she feel that she owed him more than the simple duty of a mercenary?

'He is not a horrible person, you know.' Loaren jumped as Bilbo addressed her shyly.

Loaren tilted her head in wonder, so Bilbo decided to explain.

'Thorin. He is stubborn, hardheaded and rough and he seems cold and distant to many. But he is a great dwarf and a great friend.' Bilbo smiled as he looked at the king and his nephews.

„Why are you telling me this?" Loaren wanted to know.

'You should know to whom you pledge your loyalty.' Bilbo looked up at her. 'And I do not believe that your only motivation is the payment.'

Loaren did not know what to answer to that. She had never encountered a person as the hobbit before, someone who could see through her armor and right into her mind.

„If you say so, master hobbit." Loaren winced at her own answer, but Bilbo only smiled. He decided to keep a close eye on the immortal during their journey.

In the meantime, Loaren watched the king as he softly bumped his forehead against the foreheads of his nephews in leave-taking. She realized that she was staring and decided to sit up on her horse and wait outside. As she rode past Fili and Kili, she noticed that Fili watched her in distrust, while Kili gave her a shy smile. She wondered if the dwarves would ever fully trust her and her men – probably not. Loaren could understand that, what she could not understand was that it bothered her.

'Ren, wait!' Ori followed Loaren on her way out. 'We could ride together and you could tell me more about your culture and maybe also….the immortals? Although….can you use your hands while riding?'

Loaren chuckled quietly and held up her hands while guiding the horse with the pressure of her legs.

'Oh….and maybe you could also show me how to ride that way?' Ori hopefully looked up at her and Loaren needed all her strength to not chuckle louder. She liked Ori very much and she felt as if she had found a friend in him.

While she showed him how to put pressure on the pony with only his legs, the rest of the company caught up behind them. As Loaren showed Ori how to stand up in the saddle by only applying pressure on the sides of the horse with the lower legs, she could feel someone´s gaze on her. She turned around and caught Kili starring at her behind with an unreadable expression. As he caught her glare, he quickly looked away and blushed. Before Loaren could even start to worry about his funny behaviour, she heard a yelp at her side and Ori´s pony took off with a struggling dwarf on top.

'No….more to the right…..towards Dale…the other right you stupid pony! Ren? Some help here, please?' Ori stammered and tried to guide the pony into the right direction without using his hands.

Quietly laughing to herself, Loaren followed Ori and took a look back the others to be sure that the distance between them was not too long.

'Ren?' Dwalin frowned at Ori´s call. 'What´s a Ren?'

'It´s his name, Dwalin.' Bilbo sighed and rolled his eyes at the dwarf. 'Ori asked for his name and it´s Ren.'

'Ren.' Dwalin snorted. 'Funny name.'

'How would you have addressed him, if I may ask?' Bilbo wanted to know.

'Immortal lad.' Dwalin shrugged his shoulders. 'Goldface. Or I just not talk to him at all.'

Bilbo sighed in played desperation and looked ahead, where Ori and Ren were trying to control Ori´s pony.

'This will be a long journey.'

0

After a long day of riding south, the small company made rest in a small forest by the main road. Ori and Bilbo winced after a long day in the saddle and stiffly walked away to get some firewood and strech their legs. Thorin, Dwalin and Dori sat down from their ponies with care, too proud to wince from the pain and too proud to admit that they were not the youngest dwarves anymore. Loaren could not help but elegantly jump down from her horse and walk past them with swift strides. She could hear Dwalin growl at her and grinned into her mask. Armed with twin swords, a bow and arrows as well as a short spear, Loaren walked into the forest to hunt something to eat. She came back with five rabbits and smiled as Bilbos stomach grumbled at the thought of rabbit stew this evening. The company sat around the fire in silence, it took a while to cook the rabbit until it was soft. The three older dwarves did not speak, they simply sat around the fire, stared into the flames or patroled their surroundings. Bilbo and Ori silently spoke about what to pack when they arrived in Bag End and Loaren watched them all through her mask. Her gaze lingered on Thorin longer tha the others. His eyes radiated so many emotions, he looked troubled and worried. Loaren asked herself if he dreaded the road or the encounter with his people. He should be happy to see his kin again, he would return as the valiant and heroic king who reconquered their homeland. But yet, he seemd as his a whole mountain rested on his shoulders.

Loaren looked back into the warming flames and did not see that Thorin looked up to watch her in return. His frown deepened as he tried to look past the mask. He did not trust this immortal one little bit, but he had his doubts about his feelings. The immortals had been nothing but helpful during the last weeks, no thief and no rogue orc had managed to come into the mountain on their watch, they had not gotten into fights or quarrels and they had even managed to be accepted by the men of Dale as the new Erebor guardians. Nori had told him that the immortals barely gave away their pay, only to the merchants who brought food over the border to the East. Bilbo had smiled his hobbity smile and had stated that the immortals had not forggotten the ones they had left behind, their homes and their families – if they had any. Thorin could not understand how someone could chose to be a mercenary, a soldier fighting for payment alone, without honor, without loyalty and without any qualm. But the immortals had not shown any of the things people thought them to be, they had been a great support for him and the dwarves of Erebor. But of course, Thorin´s pride would never allow him to admit it.

When the stew was ready and everyone got a bowl, Loaren cursed silently. She had forgotten that it was impossible to eat without taking her mask off. How could she not have thought about such a simple thing? Staring down into her bowl, she could hear the hobbit chuckle and Dwalin snort. She shot them a glare and simply stood up to eat somewhere else. Smooth, she thought and shook her head at her impolite behaviour, but she would not put of her mask, regardless what times, she thought about telling the scribe more about herself, but then again, she feared the consequences. Friendship was a burden for a mercenary, a burden she could not afford. One day, she would return to Rhun and maybe one day, they would stand across from each other on the battlefield. In battle, emotions and friendship where out of place. When she was finished eating, she walked back and helped Ori wash the bowls. Ori looked up at her and frowned slighty.

‚Will you ever show us your face?' Ori asked her quiet minute.

„No." Loaren simply answed and made Ori smile.

‚Why not?' the scribe asked. He could see that the immortal was not annoyed by his questions and tried to find out more.

„I do not think that it is a good idea." Loaren could not think of anything else to say, but she would tell the scribe why they wore masks. „We wear those masks because we all are equal, nobody can tell us apart, mostly not even own people. Only my mask is golden, because I am their leader and my deputies have golden stripes on their masks, the others are all the same. Some say that the immortals wear the masks to awake fear in the lines of their enemies. Some say that the immortals are running from their own identity and hide behind their masks – sometimes, that is the truth. Many of my men have been criminals in the past or had to leave their identity behind to start a new life. This mask gives us a new life, a new home and a new family."

‚What did you run from if I may ask?' Bilbo had joined them and sat down beside Loaren.

Loaren was about to think of a neutral answer as they were rudely interrupted by a group of men, who came towards them from every direction and surrounded them. They were armed with filthy knives, hammers and spears and obviously outnumbered them.

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Loaren, Thorin, Dwalin and Dori raised their swords, but the leader of the throatcutters had already grabbed Bilbo and held a knife to his throat.

‚One move and the child dies.' he growled and made Thorin pale. ‚Put your weapons down!"

‚Oi, look at that! Four dwarves, a child and a...' one of his companions looked at Loaren and frowned. ‚What is that?'

‚Who cares!' the lead sneered and pressed his knive against Bilbo's throat, drawing blood.

‚No!' Thorin's voice echoed through the dark forest. ‚All of you, weapons down.'

Dwalin and Dori immediately let go of their weapons, but Loaren paused. She did not want the hobbit to get hurt, but without their weapons, they were all dead. But Thorin grabbed her arm and forcefully turned her around.

‚You! I said put your weapon down. Now!' Thorin all but growled at Loaren and shot her a death glare.

With a defeated sigh, Loaren let go of her sword and grinded her teeth as the throatcutters took all her other weapons.

The small company was bound and forced to kneel down by the trees while the dirty looking men began to look through their things. Loaren winced as one of the men emptied her bag and all her things fell into the dirt. She only hoped that the men had no idea what the cloth was for. It started pouring down rain and soon, the dwarves, the immortal and the hobbit were soaked and freezing.

‚Where did they come from?' Ori whispered.

‚We searched the forest before we set up camp, there was no sign of other people.' Dori shook his head in shame, for he felt responsible for their situation.

‚They must have come from the main road.' Ori mused. ‚We would have run into them sooner or later. Our scouts told us that the roads were dangerous, that´s why we sent the immortals to defend our caravans from Ered Luin.'

‚Are you alright, Bilbo?' Thorin looked at the hobibt in worry.

Bilbo nodded an gave the king a forced smile. ‚I am fine, it´s just a small cut. I have a deja vu though. This time we will not be able to talk our way out of it and wait for sunlight.' Bilbo watched the filthy men with disdain. ‚The only thing which would distract these people would probably be wine and women.'

Loaren winced and cursed her luck. The hobbit was right.


	6. Chapter 6

Loaren felt the rain drip through her armor and her mask. She could see that Thorin and Dwalin struggled against their bonds, but all they did was to pull them tighter together. There was no way out of this, but for the idea that the hobbit had voiced. Cursing loudly this time, Loaren started to struggle to her knees. Bilbo, who knealt beside her, jumped at the sound of her voice and looked at her in surprise.

‚I knew it.' he murmured and managed to crack a smile.

‚What are you doing?' Dwalin growled at her. ‚You´ll get us all killed.'

‚Ren, sit down, we will find a way.' Ori pleaded and tried to stand up as well.

‚Sit down, Ori!' Dori growled at his younger brother. ‚Let the immortal kill himself if he wants to.'

One of the throatcutters saw Loaren stand up and ran over towards them, ramming his fist into her stomach. Loaren fell back to her knees with a groan, her ribs aching and nausea overwhelming her for a short moment.

‚Oi, this one´s making trouble!'

‚Bring him here!' the lead called out from the other side of the camp.

As the man pulled Loaren up to shove her to his leader, Loaren gave him a headbutt, sending him sprawling to the ground. She kicked the next man to the ground and tackled a third man, but then she was overwhelmed by the leader and another throatcutter. While her arms were still bond at her back, her mask was still in place, but she had to find a way to let them remove it and distract them long enough for the others to free themselves from their bonds.

‚Well, well, what do we have here?' the lead looked down at her with a sneer. ‚A man with a death wish?'

‚I am no man.' Loaren´s voice was husky, for she had not used it much in the last weeks.

She could hear the gasps from her company and could see the unbelieving looks from the men. At the nod of their leader, one of the men pulled down the mask and the headgear and pulled Loaren´s head up by her wet streaks of hair which now framed her head.

The dwarves and Bilbo could not see her face, for she was kneeling with her back towards them, but the men took a step back in surprise. The stripe of black paint in Loaren´s face had run down her face and made her look as dangerous as if she still had her mask on. Loaren bared her teeth and growled menacingly in her anger.

‚This ain´t no woman, it´s a demon from the underworld!` one of the throatcutters shouted and rose in panic.

The company watched in surprise as some of the men fled in panic, but Loaren, Thorin and Dwalin used the confusion and attacked the men. Thorin had managed to free himself from his bonds and also freed Dwalin and Dori, the later helping Ori and Bilbo while the two others started to pound on the men who had ambushed them. Loaren was pushed onto her back and one of the men tried to grab her by the ankles to pull her with him. With an angry cry, Loaren kicked him unconscious and tried to get on her feet, but the leader of the men already swung his long knife at her. Falling back onto her bound hands, Loaren felt blood trickle down her shoulder, where the man had caught her with his knife. Before she could stand up again, Thorin had knocked the man down with his fists and tried to hold him down, but the tall man fought hard against the dwarf king and managed to push him away, so that Thorin landed beside Loaren in the meanwhile mudd covered ground. The man looked down at the both of them and turned around to run. After a few moments, none of the men stood up against the dwarves anymore and the company could take a breath.

Loaren froze as Thorin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her onto her feet. She could feel someone lose her bonds while he glared at her. She could see the feeling of betrayal, disappointment and utter mistrust in his blue eyes and winced. For some reason, she felt her heart wrench at the look he gave her.

‚Ren?' Ori´s quiet voice made Loaren tear her gaze from the king´s and made her focus on her surroundings again. As she saw Ori´s confused face, she felt ashamed for having lied to them.

‚Do you see why I had to hide my face now, Ori?' Loaren asked sadly.

Ori only frowned at her, but it was Dwalin of all people who managed to break through the awkward silence.

‚A hideous face, like I said...get your mask back on, lad – lass...' Dwalin grinned and handed the mask over to Loaren, who looked at him with a dark frown before she snatched the mask from his hands. ‚Mahal's beard, I took a piss right in front of you!'

‚Seen worse...' Loaren mumbled and made Dori snort.

It was Bilbo who stared laughing awkwardly first and slapped Loaren on the shoulder – well, the arm.

‚Let´s get back on the road, shall we? We should stay at an Inn next time.' the hobbit stated calmly and started to pack the ponies. He could see that there was alot to be talked about and they better did this in a quiet place and not inside of a forest full of dangers.

The hobbit blinked at Thorin, who still glared at the immortal woman.

‚We will speak about this.' Thorin growled and walked away, leaving Loaren alone with Ori, who looked at her with a sad smile.

‚I am sorry, Ori. I wish I could have told you.' Loaren told the scribe and smiled sadly.

‚It´s alright.' Ori shook his head, trying to process the news. ‚You did not trust me enough, I understand.'

The scribe moved away and Loaren could not help but curse herself. She had not wanted to hurt Ori, but the hurt in the dwarf's eyes was evident. She wanted to hold the scribe back, but Ori was already packing the pony with the help of Dori, who glared daggers at her.

‚Come now, or we will leave without you.' Thorin told her roughly and made ready to sit up.

Loaren sighed heavily and gathered her things. She already dreaded their talk and hoped that she would not have return to Rhun – when had she started to feel at home in the West. That realisation scared her more than any battle could.

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They rode for two days straight until they reached an Inn. Bilbo and Ori almost kissed the ground in front of the Inn and stumbled through the door to negotiate the prize for some rooms. Thorin, Dwalin and Dori followed and Loaren took the ponies into the stable. She felt relief in the solitude and took her time to take care of he ponies. She found the bag of apples attached to one of the ponies and fed one apple to every pony and also her horse. Her horse happily chewed on the apple and Loaren grabbed a handful of her mane.

‚What do I do now?' Loaren smiled as her horse nudged her shoulder, as if she wanted to comfort her. ‚They will never trust me again. But why am I even sad about that? They never trusted me from the start. Only the little scribe trusted me...and the hobbit. The hobbit who is sneaking up on people every chance he gets.'

With a frown, Loaren turned around and caught Bilbo as he was about to sneak away again.

‚Yes, sorry about that.' at least, Bilbo had the decency to look caught. ‚You were gone for so long, I wanted to check if...'

‚If I ran? If I had stolen your ponies? Or slaughtered them?' Loaren asked with a bitter tone.

‚No, I simply wanted to know if you were alright.' Bilbo told her calmly.

‚Why do you even care?' Loaren turned away from the stables and grabbed her things.

‚Well, you saved us from the men on the road. And I consider you...a friend.' Bilbo stated softly and walked up to the woman.

‚A friend?' Loaren frowned down at him. ‚You do not know me. You should chose your friends more wisely, master hobbit. I am a mercenary. I protect you because I am paid to do so. No more, no less.'

‚You are lying.' Bilbo took all his courage together and stepped into her way. ‚I saw the pain in your eyes when the truth was revealed and you could see the confusion in our eyes. I saw how you closed your eyes in defeat when Ori came up to you and then walked away. You may not see a friend in me, but you see one in Ori. You may still have the chance to repair that friendship. But first, Thorin wants to speak to you.'

Bilbo chuckled as he saw the horror in the brave mercenary´s face and walked away. He gave her some time to think about it, but he was sure that he had reached the stubborn woman´s heart. In some way, he felt like talking to Thorin when he talked to her and was amused by the irony.

Loaren watched him walk away and sighed heavily. The hobbit was right and she hated it. She had to stand up to the king and she would explain everything, but at first, she would make herself presentable.

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Thorin was fuming over his ale. The immortal made him wait, although he had ordered her to come and explain herself. He had seen Bilbo come back from the stables without her and retreating to his room which he shared with Ori, but the immortal took her time. He was about to stand up and drag her into the Inn when the door opened and a woman in black armour entered. Thorin had to look at her twice to recognise her and by the gasps of Dori and Dwalin, they recognised her as well. The immortal had washed her face and the black paint was gone. Her hair had dried and fell around her face in unruly curls. She almost looked like a normal woman, but for her armour and her bearing. As one of the men near the door smiled at her and walked closer to her in an attempt to advance on her, Loaren bared her teeth again, like she had when the throatcutters had closed in on her. The man retreated quickly and Loaren shot him a glare. Thorin heard Dwalin laugh at the man who had gotten scared by what he called a woman who looked like a drowned kitten and sat up. Loaren looked around and walked towards them as soon as she had spotted them. Dori immediately stood up to offer them some privacy and walked over to another table, dragging a reluctant Dwalin with him. They could watch over their king from another place, but they knew that Thorin wanted a word with the woman alone.

Thorin watched the woman and could see her wincing as the dwarves retreated to another table,but then her face showed nothing more than an emotionless mask again. She sat down opposite from him and took a deep breath before she looked up to meet his gaze.

‚King Thorin, I am aware that...' she started, but Thorin would have none of that.

‚No, it is my turn to speak, you had all the opportunity on the road and even more before then.' Thorin snarled and tried not to let his anger about the betrayal cloud his judgement. ‚You have lied to us, you have deceaved us and you have broken our trust. Why should we not send you back to the shadows where you belong?'

Loaren looked at the dwarf, who glared at her with hard and cold eyes. She could understand that he felt betrayed, but she could also feel her own anger about this treatment bubble up in her. But anger and emotions would not help her now.

‚King Thorin, I...' Loaren took a deep breath and tried to calm down. ‚If I may...I know that you feel betrayed, but I have never wanted to deceive any of you. I did not come to Erebor to betray your trust, if there ever was any. I came to Erebor because I was ordered to secure the mountain and protect the inhabitants and that is what me and my men did. My person...should not have been of any importance. I did not plan to get close to any of your friends and I did not plan to have to prove my – our worth to you. I wanted our actions to speak for us. I did not reveal my gender because I knew that you would object to have women fight for you and I did not want to offend...'

‚You speak of us not trusting you, but in truth, it was you who never trusted us.' Thorin growled and interrupted Loaren´s speach. ‚You offended us by coming into my mountain like a thief in the night, hidden behind this ridiculous mask of yours!'

Thorin needed all his willpower to not yell through the whole Inn. He did not know why this matter disturbed him so much, but he was tired of seeing a threat in everything and everyone he did not know. His past life had proved him to be cautious towards all things foreign to the dwarven culture and although he wanted to see the good in others, he could not.

But he was not the only one who had to keep calm. Loaren was not ready to take all the blame for this and her pride bubbled up to the surface. A pride she did not even know she still had.

‚With all due respect, king Thorin, I have never given you reason to mistrust me. I came to Erebor as a mercenary and I tried to do what I was paid for. My gender was of no importance...'

‚Then why did you hide it?' Thorin lost his patience. ‚You lied to us, to all of us!'

‚My gender has caused me nothing but problems!' Loaren snarled. ‚All my life, men tried to use me for their purposes and tried to keep me obedient to their will. The only freedom I ever witnessed was the freedom as a mercenay with his face hidden behind this mask.' Loaren slammed the mask onto the table. ‚This is all I have and I will not let your unfounded mistrust stand in the way of doing what I am supposed to do. Protecting your people. You may think us honorless and merciless, but we are way more than that. You have not once made the effort to look behind the mask, to look behind the mercenary and see the person. Only the hobbit and the scribe ever tried and I hate myself for lying to them. Now, if you will excuse me, I will apologise to them.'

Loaren stood up from the table and made her way towards the rooms, leaving a stunned dwarven king behind, brooding and angry. He jumped as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and turned around to see Dwalin smirk at him.

‚Congratulations, you got youself another Dis. Stubborn, headstrong and independent. What is it about you that those woman find so alluring?.' Dwalin grinned at his friend, who only frowned at him.

‚I rather imagine that those woman see a threat in me. A threat to their freedom.' Thorin grumbled and tried to get a clear head. ‚We have not slept for days, my old friend. I think that we should all get some sleep before we continue our journey.'

‚Aye, that we should.' Dwalin nodded and continued to grin as Thorin walked over to the rooms. This promised to get really interesting and Dwalin already looked forward to the first meeting of Dis and the leader of the immortals she had dismissed that easily.

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In the meantime, Loaren looked for Ori´s room. She had to speak to the scribe and the hobbit before their relationship was strained beyond repair. When she had found their room, she quietly knocked and the door. There was no answer and Loaren opened the door to see if everything was alright. Bilbo and Ori were both sleeping, sprawled onto the man sized bed and snoring loudly. They seemed to be exhausted from the journey and Loaren felt bad for having kept the dwarves from their rest. Silently, she took her bedroll and laid it out on the floor between the bed and the door, that way, any intruder would stumble over her before he reached the scribe and the hobbit. Loaren tried to stay awake long enough to make sure that nobody would disturb their peace, but she had ignored how exhausted she was herself and fell asleep before she could gather another thought. She did not hear how the door silently opened and closed again.

Dori had come to check on his little brother and was surprised to find the immortal slumped at the foot of the bed, weapons ready at her side, ready to fight any intruder who would be loud enough to wake them up. With a frown, he looked down at the woman, who looked peaceful in her sleep. A white scar ran down the side of her face, but she still looked pretty – for a human woman. Dori chuckled as he remembered that some of the throatcutters had been scared of barely looking upon her face that other night. He was sure that Dwalin would wind her up with that whenever he got the chance. Dwalin had taken this surprise best of them all, in fact, he did not even understand why Thorin felt betrayed about it. Dwalin saw her as a mercenary, a warrior, nothing more. Of course, dwarven women were precious and needed to be protected, for their numbers were already only few, but the women of men were another matter to him. This immortal was a warrior and she tried to protect his king and kin, that was all that counted for Thorin´s old friend. Dori wished that he could think the same, but he still had his problems with this woman fighting for them. She would need ll the way to Ered Luin to gain his trust, but he was afraid that it would take even more longer for Thorin to accept her.


	7. Chapter 7

Loaren woke up to quiet voices behind her. As she opened her eyes, she looked right into Ori´s face.

‚Uh, I am sorry to interrupt, but you are blocking the door and Bilbo...he is really hungry.' Ori managed a smile and pointed at Bilbo, who was tapping his foot onto the floor in his impatience. His stomach grumbled loudly and made Loaren chuckle.

‚I apologise.' Loaren stood up and managed to supress a yawn. She realised that she was hungry herself, but she needed a moment of privacy before that. ‚I will meet you downstairs.'

Ori and Bilbo nodded at her and made their way down and Loaren took a moment to think about her situation. She would need to play with open cards now. It was still a long way to Ered Luin and this would be a tiresome journey if nothing but mistrust would stand between them. With a sigh, Loaren washed her face, freshened up and bound her hair up. Since the room was lockable, she left her weapons and her mask in the room and walked down only in her black trousers and tunic. She noticed that the men in the Inn eyed her curiously and with interest, but she straightly made her way to the table where the dwarves were sitting. She waited for Thorin´s reluctant nod before she sat down and bit her lip as she looked into the curious faces of the dwarves and the hobbit. Only the king seemed disinterested.

‚You want to know everything?' she sighed and took a deep breath. It was not the time to hide anymore.

‚Everything, you do not seem that old, just start with your birth.' Dwalin grinned at her and obviously enjoyed her discomfort.

Loaren sighed and took a breath to start, but Ori interrupted her.

‚First, tell us your real name.' Ori asked her and Loaren could tell, that the scribe had not yet forgiven her for not having told the truth.

‚My name is Loaren. Ren is the short form.' at least, Loaren had not lied about that.

‚Does it mean something in the eastern language?' Ori wanted to know.

‚It means lizard.' Loaren sighed, for she was not proud of that name.

‚Lizard?' Dwalin chocked on his cider. ‚You got to be joking.'

‚No...lizard it is.' Loaren looked him straight in the eye and frowned as he fought a laugh. ‚My father was not happy that I was a girl.'

‚And what about your mother?' Bilbo asked. ‚She must have had some saying in this.'

‚Eastern women have no saying in anything.' Loaren stated grimly. ‚And she was not even my father´s wife, she gave birth to me and that was all she had to do. I was brought up by the whole household and when I was four, my mother died.'

Before anyone could voice his sympathy, Loaren continued.

‚King Dario is my father.' she could hear the gasps around her, but stubbornly looked down at her hands. ‚My mother was one of his slaves. I do not remember her and I do not feel her loss. When I was fourteen, my father tried to marry me off to a lord who stood in his graces, but I refused to follow his wishes. I managed to repell every suitor in the next three years, but then my father made me chose between marriage and exile. I chose exile and the king threw me out onto the streets, with nothing more than the clothes I was wearing. The first days were...hard and challenging. Men are not used to a girl wandering the streets of Rhun on her own. At first, my royal attire saved me from the worst, but then, my appearance did not discourage them anymore. I was lucky that I found a pair of trousers and a filthy tunic on the streets and that I still had a small knife with me. I cut my hair, changed into the filthy clothes and made my way out of my city. What?'

Loaren paused as she heard the horrified gasps around her and looked up to see all the dwarves looking at her with big eyes, only the king was frowning as usual.

‚You...you cut your hair?' Ori looked at her with big eyes. ‚But...how short?'

The scribe let out a pained yelp as Loaren held her thumb and her index finger together only inches apart.

‚I was a young girl, with the short hair I looked like a boy.' Loaren could not understand the dwarve´s shock. ‚What is it about my hair?'

‚You have so beautiful hair!' it was the first time that Dori adressed her and she could see true pity on his face.

‚I think that she does not know what significance hair has to dwarves.' Bilbo adressed the company and turned back to Loaren. ‚You see, dwarves only cut their hair in shame or in deep regret for a crime or something like that. It is a sign of disgrace cutting of one´s hair and it is the last resort before death.'

‚Oh.' Loaren looked at Dori who nodded at that. ‚Well, I really had no other choice. In fact, you could say that I was living in shame then, for it as my duty as a princess, even if I was only a bastard, to do as my father wished. I should have married the man he had chosen for me, it was all I could do for our society. I did not and I had to carry the consequences.'

‚Your father forced you to pledge your life to a man who had not chosen. I think it is understandable that you refused.' Bilbo stated, but Loaren only smiled sadly.

‚I was in a position where I had no right to refuse. I was born into royalty and as such, I had no right to live my own life as I wanted to. My duty should have been with my people.' Loaren could see something change in Thorin´s expression, but he still feigned disinterest, so she looked away again. ‚ Anyway, I wandered the wild until I found the camp of the immortals. It was the only place where I could go and the mask gave me a certain security in life. I spent the next years with them as a common warrior, but my mentor, who is actually the man who is sitting in Bree with the rest of my men, saw something in me that others did not. He trained me harder than the others and made me his deputy after five years. Then, he revealed my secret in front of everyone else by pulling of the mask in front of my comrades. But none of them took it badly that I was a woman, granted, I had to break a few noses after that, but that was nothing. My mentor had always known that I was a woman, for I seemed to have moved too feminine for a man, but he did not care. He was only interested in me as a warrior and with time, I learned to trust him and told him who I was. We returned to Rhun and I was made the leader of the immortals. My education in the royal household had given me some skills on diplomacy, as well as knowledge about the lifestyle of the upper class of Rhun. I noticed intrigues and knew how some lords used bribe to get what they wanted. That knowledge was of advantage in our business and gave me the high ground. My father was surprised to see me, for he had thought me dead. But then he used my connection to the mercenaries and began to use us for his own goals. He loaned us to his allies and used us to get rid of his enemies. In the end, I ran from one obligation and got stuck into another. I have never been free, but at least now I have the illusion of living the life I chose for myself.'

Loaren was done with her story and felt relief flow through her body. It was the first time ever, that she had spoken about her life and she did not understand why she had told it all to those dwarves. This trust in them scared her more than anything they could have done to her.

The silence at the table was disturbed by the grumbling stomach of the hobbit, who stood up with a huff.

‚Very interesting, really, but I cannot believe that I still did not have breakfast.' he grumbled and walked away to get something to eat.

Loaren had to smile and felt hungry herself. She turned to Ori and smiled at the scribe. ‚I apologise that I have not told you about my gender. But I thought that as a female, you might understand...'

Loaren noticed that she had said something funny as Thorin's head snapped into her direction with an amused expression. Ori´s big eyes and Dwalin´s roaring laughter made her stop midsentence. Dori looked offended and Thorin still looked as if he tried his best to fight his laughter.

‚What?' Loaren looked back at them with big eyes.

‚I am male.' Ori looked as if he could not decide to find the situation embarassing or funny.

‚Oh my goodness...' Loaren blushed to a deep red. ‚I am so sorry! I thought that you...you behaved...different than the others. You were nice to me from the start.'

‚Oho, if you think that our females are nice, then you are in for a big surprise when you meet Dis.' Dwalin chuckled and laughed as Thorin shot him a glare.

‚I am so sorry, Ori.' Loaren shook her head in defeat. ‚It seems that I have a talent for putting my foot into my mouth.'

‚That´s alright.' Ori smiled honestly for the first time since Loaren had revealed her gender. ‚I was often told that I seem more like a female because of my profession and my small beard. And it should not be something to be ashamed off, really. You did not seem to be ashamed for being mistaken for a man.'

‚Indeed, no.' Loaren smiled. ‚On the contrary, being mistaken for a man made my life easier. Men are either overprotective over their women or they supress them. That´s why I ctually thought that you were a female...your brothers were very protective of you and also Dwalin...'

‚Alright, the hobbit already starved, now I think we should get something to eat, ey?' Dwalin jumped up and quickly walked away in a hurry.

Ori blushed, Loaren grinned, Dori frowned and Thorin could not help but smirk into his beard – that, only Loaren saw.

0

After a long breakfast, during which Bilbo complained that he had missed the funny part because he had to get his breakfast, the small company made for Ered Luin again. Loaren rode with Bilbo and Ori, but this time, she did not wear her mask. She felt more free than she had felt in the last months and enjoyed the warm sun on her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She did not see Thorin turn around and look at her for a long time before turning to the road again.

The dwarf king had been furious about her betrayal, but after she had told them her story, he felt more at ease. Deep inside of him he could understand her motives, but his pride forbid him to forgive her that easily. It had impressed her how she had managed to gain control of her own life under such circumstances and he admired her bravery for the choices she had made. He still felt insecure around her, now even more than before and hoped that their trip to Ered Luin would ease some of his feelings. In Ered Luin, Dis would slap all of these feelings right our of his head. Whatever those feelings were.

Dwalin was riding right behind him, trying his best to ignore Dori´s glares and Ori´s smiles. He cursed the damn woman for having pointed out his interest in Ori and he would have his petty revenge.

It took them one day more to reach Mirkwood. Thorin had sent a message to Thranduil, asking him for permission to cross his kingdom again, but he had not gotten an answer. But there was no way around Mirkwood if they wanted to get to Ered Luin before winter was coming. This time though, Thorin would not stray from the path.

Loaren felt as if she had returned to Rhun again, the same atmosphere that had poisened her home had also poisoned this kingdom. Mirkwood was dark, threatening and the air smelled foul, just like the crops in her homeland. When Bilbo told her about the giant spiders, Loaren sighed deeply.

‚Is there no way around?' Loaren was highly alarmed as soon as they had entered the forest.

‚Sadly not.' Bilbo did not like the idea of riding through the forest either. ‚Try not to take too many deep breaths the air is full of...just be careful.'

‚I will, master hobbit, I will.' Loaren tried not to sound too nervous. She was a warrior and a mercenary and she would not let this forest cloud her mind. Or so she thought.

Two days after they had entered the forest, Loaren started to understand the power of the foul air in that forest. The world started spinning and she felt as if she rode backwards instead of forwards. When the others spoke, it sounded hollow and stretched, as if everything passed slower than usual. She felt drunk and she felt tired. It was obvious that the others felt it was well, for Thorin started to yell orders which made no sense, Dwalin said nothing at all and Dori looked more nervous the deeper they rode into the dark.

Another two days passed and they had only crossed half the forest altough they were riding swiftly. They took a rest near the enchanted water and Bilbo told Loaren that he had climbed up the trees to look where they had been heading. The perspective of fresh air sounded lovely in Loaren's ears and she decided to give it a try.

‚I'll come with you.' Bilbo needed fresh air himself, but Thorin seemed reluctant.

‚I cannot afford the both of you to break your backs when you fall. Last time you fell as well.' he scolded the hobbit.

‚Last time, my feet got tangled in webs.' Bilbo shuddered at the memory. ‚It won't happen this time. We only need air and the sun, we are not used to this.'

Bilbo spoke for Loaren as well, for he knew that Thorin would give in in his favor, but not if she asked. Besides, Loaren did not seem to feel at ease near the king and would never ask for a favor.

‚Be careful.' Thorin sighed and helped the hobbit up into the first branches, while Loaren watched them in silence. When Bilbo had reached the middle branches, she started to climb as well, with a last assuring glance at the dwarf king. She felt unwanted and unwelcome and she was sure that nobody would be sad about it if she really fell and broke her neck. Fighting the dark thoughts, Loaren followed the hobbit until she felt a breeze in her hair. With a deep breath, she looked around and enjoyed the warm feeling of the sun as well as the wind playing with her curls.

‚This is good, isn't it?' Bilbo smiled at her reaction.

‚This is the best I have felt for days.' Loaren sighed. ‚This forest is more than depressing. It makes one feel as dead as it is. I wonder if the elves of Mirkwood are that secluded because they have to live in this environment.'

‚I have never thought about that.' Bilbo mused. ‚Maybe...although it seems that the king of Mirkwood tries to keep his kin secluded for their own good. To him, everything foreign is a threat.'

‚He is not the only one.' Loaren murmured and made the hobbit chuckle.

‚Thorin has no reason to trust others but his kin, he has been disappointed too often.' he winced as he saw Loaren's troubled face. ‚Oh no, I did not mean you.'

‚I know that he does not trust me one bit, master hobbit.' Loaren stated more sadly than she intended to. ‚And I doubt that I will ever earn his trust.'

Bilbo was about to say something as he heard Thorin's yell.

‚Master hobbit, I suggest you come back down here, we do not want to linger!'

‚See? He cares about you, but not me.' Loaren smiled bitterly, but she also wondered why she even cared about it. Never before had she cared about anyone liking her or not. ‚Let's go.'

Bilbo climbed down first and Loaren followed him. Climbing down was far more difficult than up and Loaren slipped a few times. Bilbo was more sure on his bigger feet and he reached the ground without any problems. Loaren looked down and saw that Thorin looked at her in annoyance. She tried to climb down faster, but then one of her feet got caught and she lost her grip on the branch she was holding on to. With a yelp, she slid down the rest of the tree feet first, but she did not fall. Strong hands slid up her sides and she felt a hard body behind her as she was caught before she could hit the ground. One arm was wrapped around her waist and the other held her up by the shoulder and she was pressed against a warm chest. In relief for not having fallen, she relaxed and melted against the body behind her for a split second. Time almost stood still and she felt safe for the first time in her life.

‚Excuse me, would you mind? Or do you need me to carry you to your horse?' a deep voice growled into her ear from behind.

Loaren jumped and turned around to find herself face to face with the king. His arms were still wrapped around her, but the look he gave her was cold and extremly annoyed. With a quick step backwards against the trunk of the tree, Loaren brushed off his arms and struggled for words.

Thorin looked back at the immortal and tried to focus again. He had seen her fall and had moved towards her to catch her, but he had not been prepared for the full body contact. Her body slid down his own as she fell and he could feel his palms move over her sides. He pressed her against him to prevent her from smashing to the ground and felt her relax in his arms. Her head sank against his shoulder, her back leaned against his chest and her curls fell into his face. All of a sudden Thorin felt heavily intoxicated, even more than he already felt because of this forest and cleared his throat. When he started speaking he could feel Loaren stiffen and winced as she turned around in his arms, the length of her body brushing over his. He frowned at her and clenched his jaw at her shocked reaction. When she realised that he had caught her, she backed away and slapped his hands away from her. Thorin felt his anger override his...by Mahal, what was he even feeling? Before he could figure it out, Mordor broke lose around them.


	8. Chapter 8

‚Spiders!' Dwalin's roar made the small company wake from their stupor and made them grab their weapons. Loaren made for her horse and grabbed her bow while the dwarves formed a protective ring around Bilbo. The hobbit had learned to use his little sword during their quest to Erebor, was still the most vulnerable.

‚Bilbo, if we should be overwhelmed, you use your ring!' Thorin whispered towards his friend. ‚Do you hear me? Use it!'

Bilbo only nodded and held up Sting, his letter opener, as Balin has called it.

‚Bilbo, aim your toothpick for their eyes if you can!' Loaren joined them and closed the circle.

‚Excuse me, this is not a...' Bilbo could not finish the sentence, because the first spider came crashing towards them.

Four spiders were killed in the first attack, one by Orcrist, one through Dwalin's axes, one by Dori's sword and one through an arrow from Loaren's bow. Two spiders made for Ori and Bilbo and the company had to give up the protecting ring around them for more flexibility in battle. Loaren kept shooting the spiders with her arrows and managed to kill two more, but then of them grabbed her by the strap on her back and pulled her out of sight. Thorin and Dwalin did not notice it and Dori was about to help Ori, who was run over by a smaller spider. Bilbo was the one to notice that Loaren was missing, but he was preoccupied by a spider which attacked Thorin. The hobbit swung Sting against the spiders legs and ran to the next leg until he had slashed all of them. The spider collapsed and Thorin drove Orcirst through it´s eye into it´s brain.

‚Thorin, the spiders took Ren!' Bilbo panted and grimaced as Thorin cursed loudly.

‚This woman is only trouble...' Thorin had barely finished the sentence as the spiders retreated, hunted down by Mirkwood elves. Bilbo did not need to understand Khuzdul to know that Thorin cursed the pointy eared tree shaggers over and over until they were gone. This time, they did not linger with the dwarves.

‚We have to find her...' Bilbo was about to run into the forest as a ravel of red and brown hair crashed through the trees and landed on the clearing in front of them.

‚Isn´t that...?' Dwalin pointed at the red haired she-elf who attacked the immortal woman. But Loaren put up a fight worthy of the six hundred years of fighting practise of the she-elf. With a growl, Loaren engaged Tauriel in a fight and swirled around, avoiding the twin daggers.

‚Ehm, shouldn´t we...?' Bilbo gapped at the dwarves, who seemed captured in the sight of the two fighting females.

Loaren managed to disarm Tauriel with two kicks to her stomach and advanced on the elf as she gasped for air. Tauriel used her drive to push Loaren against a tree and won some time.

Engaged in hand to hand combat, the two women had blanked out their surroundings and did not even hear Bilbo´s calls.

‚Thorin!' the dwarf king jumped at Bilbo´s shout and straightened to make an end this mess. ‚Do something!'

‚No, let them!' Dwalin watched the fight with interest. ‚I bet that our immortal will split that elf's skull right in half, she looks really angry!'

‚Enough!' Thorin roared through the forest and managed to break up the fighting for at least a while. ‚Stop this nonsense this instant!'

Loaren immediately let go of Tauriel and stepped away, while the elf looked at her in surprise and anger. She realised then, that the immortal had done as Thorin had ordered and straightened her back. So this women was part of the dwarven company. She had seen the immortal in her forest and had immediately seen a threat in her. Only weeks before, about a hundred immortals had passed their realm, but Thranduil had ordered her to leave them be. Apparantly, he had gotten word from Erebor both times and had decided to inform his captain of the guard about the one, but not the other. She had not known that the king of Erebor himself would wander their lands again on his way south in the company of yet another immortal.

‚King Thorin.' Tauriel backed away from Loaren and looked at them in confusion.‚This immortal violated our borders. She has no place amonst...'

‚This Immortal is the captain of Erebors troops and part of my company.' Thorin growled at the elf. ‚She has every right to be here, what you would know if your king would have answered my letters.'

At this, Tauriel looked at her feet. ‚My king is...occupied with things that are of no concern of dwarves.'

‚I am sure.' Thorin sneered.

Loaren watched the exchange with interest. It was obvious that the kings of Erebor and Mirkwood despised each other, but apparently, this she-elf respected the king of Erebor highly and followed his orders. She had to find out why.

With a glare at Loaren, the she-elf made ready to join her kin. She bowed before Thorin one last time and gathered her daggers from the ground.

‚King Thorin, until we meet again.'

Then she was gone, swiftly as the wind.

‚Thank you.' Loaren turned towards Thorin who frowned at her in confusion.

‚For what?'

‚For defending my honor in front of that elf. Even though you think that I have none.' Loaren stated calmly. ‚I thought you hated me.'

Her words honestly sursprised the dwarf king. He did not hate her – distrusted her, yes, maybe even disliked her, but he did not hate her. He had not realised that his feelings towards her had been so much misinterpreted.

‚I hate elves more.' he could hear himself say and bit his tongue as he saw Loaren´s sad smile and her quick retreat to her horse.

Way to go, you imp, Thorin scolded himself, but it was too late. Even Dwalin looked at him in surprise and then back to Loaren.

‚We should keep moving.' Bilbo tried to lift the tension. ‚The sooner we leave the forest, the better.'

Everyone nodded at that and the company sat up to ride down the path. It took them three more days to leave Mirkwood.

0

The company decided to visit Beorn on their way south. Loaren could not hide her surprise as Bilbo told her about the last skinchanger, but she was curious to meet him. In Rhun, they had heard about skinchangers, but she had thought them to be a myth.

‚An immortal, I thought that you were a simple myth.' Beorn grumbled as he looked down at her with a frown.

‚Likewise.' Loaren stated dryly and made the huge man smile.

‚A pretty immortal, even though broken.' Beorn pushed away Loaren´s hair and revealed her scar. ‚Who did this?'

‚A dwarf.' Loaren answered and heard her company mutter in surprise. This information would not help the trust issues between them, that was for sure, but she would not keep anything from them anymore.

Beorn hummed and let go of Loaren´s hair, smirking at Thorin, who looked at him in barely contained anger. The stubborn dwarf would not see a tree inside of a forest with both yes wide open. The immortal woman was a beautiful, honest and bright one, only herself and the dwarf king seemed to ignore it.

‚You can stay as long as you want.' Beorn invited all of them into his humble home. ‚There are no rooms, you will not have any privacy, lady immortal.'

Loaren smiled at their host and bowed her head in gratitude. ‚We are grateful for your hospitality, master Beorn.'

The company followed the skinchanger into his home and took their time to look around and remember the last time they had been there. Thorin could hear Loaren laugh when Bilbo told her how Gandalf had introduced the company to Beorn the last time. The skinchanger had left to look after his animals and the company made ready for a good nights sleep without anyone having to stay up for watch. Thorin and Dwalin sat down to tend to their weapons, while Dori and Bilbo made dinner. Ori sat down beside Loaren, who seemed to feel at ease in between of all those animals in Beorns home. She tickled one of the cows under it's chin and smiled at the little gnawers in the hay around them. Ori shuddered at the sight of the mice and Loaren chuckled.

‚And you wonder why I thought that you were female?' Loaren teased Ori and smiled as the scribe grinned.

‚You seem to like animals.' Ori stated and watched Loaren sit in between of the animals with a peaceful smile. ‚You would really like Radagast the Brown, then.'

‚Who is Radagast?' Loaren asked although the name seemed familiar to her.

‚A wizard.' Ori explained. ‚He seeks solitude and lives deep within the forest surrounded by animals.'

‚Lucky bastard...I love animals.' Loaren sighed. ‚They are pure, honest and loyal. Such beautiful characters are rarely found in people.'

Ori hummed in agreement and he could see that Thorin and Dwalin listened to their conversation although they tried not to concentrate on their weapons.

‚Did you really get this scar from a dwarf?' Ori asked her carefully and noticed that Loaren tried to push her curls over it.

‚A little squirmish with the dwarves of the Iron Hills.' Loaren sighed. ‚I did not pay attention and I was grazed by an axe. I was lucky that it only grazed me, my horse had taken a step back and had brought me out of the axe's fighting distance.'

‚Were you at war with our kin?' Ori had not known that Dain's dwarves were fighting the people of Rhun.

‚Not really.' Loaren answered carefully. ‚There were some minor disagreements between Dain and our king. Nothing serious really, but some of them did end in fights.'

‚You killed dwarves?' Dwalin looked up from his axe and frowned at Loaren.

‚Yes. And they tried to kill me.' Loaren simply answered and met the dwarf's glare.

‚Fair enough.' Dwalin grumbled and turned back to his axe.

While the others spoke, Thorin had difficulties concentrating is sword. His mind drifted back to the moments of their journey when he had seen the real Loaren. Her fighting skills impressed him and she had in fact shown nothing but loyalty towards them on their journey. Thorin hated the fact that even now that he had reclaimed his homeland, he was still depending on other people to hold it. He hated dependency from others but his own kin. Without Loaren and her men, he might have lost his mountain again and he hated them for it. No, he hated the circumstances. As much as he tried, he could not hate the woman, he could even understand why she had hidden her true identity from them in the first place. Beorn calling her pretty came to his mind. He took a closer look at the woman and frowned. She was pretty for a human and the scar on her face gave her a mysterious and dangerous look. She had the body of a warrior, slim but trained and for a moment, he could feel her body mold into his hands as he had caught her fall in Mirkwood. Another picture forced itself into his mind, a picture of Loaren and Tauriel fighting. When Tauriel had slammed Loaren against the tree, her curls had bounced around her face, revealing the scar, as well as the fierce glare in her eyes. Thorin imagined that it would be the same fierce look he would get if he had backed her up against a tree, his hands on her sides, his body against hers again and his face close to hers. He thought about her body relaxing against his after he had saved her from falling and felt a warm tingle run down his spine. Then, he realised what he was thinking about and felt anger bubble up in him. Anger about himself and also about her presence. He was a dwarf and a king, he should not feel anything for this woman apart from authority. Suddenly feeling trapped inside of the small house, he stood up and marched right out, slamming the door behind him. Thorin felt heavily frustrated, he felt the same as before the quest to Erebor. He had expected his anger, his frustration and his fury to vanish after regaining his home. He had hoped to find a place to settle down and call home, but Erebor was far from home for him. It was a burden, a heavy burden, like a mountain on his back. He had not expected this. He had expected none of what had happened to him in the last year.

He had expected to reclaim his beloved home and die an honorable death in battle after behaving as dishonorable as he did under the influence of the dragon sickness. The guilt about his behaviour weighed heavily on him, although all parties involved had forgiven him long ago – all but Thranduil and for this, the elven king had Thorin´s full understanding, as much as he hated to admit it.

Even months after regaining the mountain, Erebor was far from being a home, it was torn, it was filthy and it was unsafe. At least for the later, Thorin had Loaren and her men. Strangers, mercenaries...easterlings. Thorin asked himself why he had agreed to this bargain, but in a quiet minute he knew that he had indeed no other choice and this only fuelled his anger.

Inside of Beorn´s house, Loaren looked after the retreating dwarf king with the murderous expression and frowned. He seemed restless and lost – as lost as she felt herself.

‚Don´t mind him, Ren.' Ori tried to comfort her. ‚Our king is...he has a heavy burden to carry.'

But this time, Loaren was not ready to let it go. She had endured Thorin´s glares and his snarky remarks during their journey south, she had lived with his open hostility and his downgrading demeanour and she had accepted his mistrust – although she had not deserved it. There was only so much her pride could take.

Cursing in rhunish, Loaren followed him out with the same thunderous expression and slammed the door shut behind her as well.

Bilbo came running from the kitchen and saw her leave.

‚What just happened?' the hobbit asked Ori, but the scribe shrugged his shoulders.

‚Our immortal lady is going to give our king a piece of her mind.' Dwalin rubbed his hands with a huge grin. ‚This will be even more spectacular than the fight against the pointy eared redhair.'

Dwalin made ready to follow them, but he was stopped by Bilbo who pointed a huge pan at him.

‚Oh no, you won´t! This is something between them, we should give them some privacy.' Bilbo insisted and Ori nodded. ‚This journey has been straining enough, let´s leave those two blow off some steam.'

‚Blow off some steam?' Dwalin looked down at the hobbit standing in his way. ‚If we leave them out there, chances are that only one comes back. And after seeing the lass fight, I am not so sure if it will be Thorin.'

‚We will see.' Bilbo shooed Dwalin and Ori into the kitchen. ‚Come now, we need some help. These pots and pans are really heavy. Get cracking, Dwalin.'

Grumbling something about authoritian little imps into his beard, Dwalin followed the hobbit and grabbed Ori by the hem of his tunic as the scribe tried to sneak out behind his back.

‚Oh no, if I can´t, you can´t.'


	9. Chapter 9

Loaren followed Thorin until he had reached a small group of trees inside of Beorns garden. There, he started pacing and cursing, his expression one of utter frustration. He had gripped his sword tightly, so that the blood drained out of his knuckles and Loaren could tell that he wanted to release some of his frustration on the nearest tree. But she had noticed how much Beorn loved his home and he would chop all of them to mulch if they harmed his garden. Stepping forward with crossed arms, she stepped into the vanishing sunlight and smiled bitterly as the king turned around to glare at her.

‚Not one moment of peace is given to me.' Thorin growled and looked at Loaren with disdain.

‚I apologise, king Thorin, does my mere presence disturb your peace?' Loaren sneered, for her patience was running thin. ‚Maybe you would like to relieve yourself from than burden, then?'

Loaren pulled her swords from her scabbard and saw Thorin raise Orcrist. She had won men's respect in fights since she had joined the immortals and she knew that some men would only see reason if it was hammered right into their skull.

‚What are you waiting for, oh valiant king?' Loaren sneered at her opponent.

‚I do not fight women.' Thorin seemed unsure what to do, but Loaren could see that he would love to smash in her skull with his elven blade.

‚This, my king, might cost your life one day.' Loaren stated dryly and made the first step. With a snarl, she jumped down from the higher ground she was standing on and swung her swords against the dwarven king. Thorin blocked her blows with Orcrist, but the fury behind her attack surprised him and he stumbled backwards. Loaren was a skilled fighter, but Thorin had almost two centuries worth of experience and he was physically stronger than her. It took a few blows, but soon, Loaren found herself unarmed and panting heavily. Thorin pointed his sword at her throat with a smug expression that made her blood boil in fury.

‚Yield.' he ordered her, but this was an order Loaren would not take.

‚Never.' she growled and slapped the blade away with her flat hand, engaging Thorin with her bare hands. In reflex, she gave him a headbutt which send them both sprawling to the ground; Thorin in surprise and Loaren half unconscious.

‚Ah! You dwarves and your thick skulls!' Loaren cursed and held her hand to her forehead. She froze as she felt a callous hand around her throat and looked down to see Thorin´s hand close around it, while the other one lay at his side around Orcrist´s hilt. He did not apply any pressure, but he would be able to snap her neck with one quick motion if he wanted to.

‚You defied my order.' Thorin growled deeply and looked at her in anger.

‚Immortals are warriors without honor, why are you surprised?' Loaren sneered and realised that she was straddling him. With a smirk, she applied pressure with her legs and watched Thorin gasp.

The dwarf king felt her legs close around his middle like a vise and felt the air drain from his lungs. Letting go of Orcrist and her soft throat, Thorin grabbed her thighs and tried to push her down from him. But the woman did not move one little bit, on the contrary, her legs applied more pressure the more he fought. Leaning forward until her hair fell around both of their faces, Loaren looked him in the eye and smirked.

‚I practically grew up on horseback and as you should know, we control pur horses by pressure of our legs. Yield.' she whispered and watched Thorin pale.

‚Never.' he pressed out, but he could feel his arms weaken because of the lack of oxygen.

‚You would rather die than admit defeat?' Loaren asked with an amused grin. ‚Is it because I am a woman? Or because I am a filthy mercenary?'

‚Both.' Thorin was in no mood for teasing and he needed air. But he would rather bite of his tongue than admit defeat.

‚I was wrong.' Loaren could see that he was turning blue and released him, relaxing her legs. ‚Your pride will be your downfall, not a woman.'

Thorin took a deep and almost desperate breath and took the opportunity to roll them over, trapping Loaren between the ground and himself. The woman did not struggle and all the anger in her eyes was gone as she gazed up at him. The last sunlight of the day reflected in her brown eyes, making them shine like amber and Thorin almost lost himself in their gaze. But then, he felt the pressure of her legs around his middle again, squeezing the air out of his lungs yet again.

‚You got to be joking, woman.' Thorin rasped and tried to pull her legs of him again.

This time, Loaren was grinning and seemed to enjoy his situation.

‚You should not underestimate me.' Loaren whispered. This time, it was Thorin´s hair that tickled her face and his weight on her almost took her own breath away. She took her time to look at the king closely. He had a very handsome face, a straight nose, thin lips, the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen and a really attractive frown. Loaren took her time and let her gaze wonder, down his bearded face and down to his chest. Thorin´s collar was open and she could see the upper part of a strong and hairy chest, struggling to draw breath. She wondered how this chest would feel below her wandering hands before she realised what she was thinking and shook her head to clear her head.

‚Listen...' Thorin had to lean onto his hands and looked down at the mercenary. ‚In a few moments, I will faint and I will faint on top of you. You will be here all night.'

Loaren looked up at the king in surprise and wondered if he had just shown some unexpected humor. Before she could answer, they heard steps coming from the house and someone cleared his throat.

‚Well, that is a sight I did not expect at all.' Bilbo looked down at them with his hands pressed into his hips. ‚Are you enjoying youself?'

‚Does that look as if we are having fun?' Thorin rasped and Loaren rolled her eyes. With a huff, she relaxed her legs and made Thorin roll to the side, gasping for air.

‚Dinner is ready.' Bilbo grinned at the both of them and turned on his heels. ‚Dwalin will be so excited when I tell him how I found you both...'

‚Don´t you dare!' Thorin and Loaren exclaimed at the same time, which made the hobbit chuckle.

‚Then I suggest that you two behave for the rest of the journey. Yes, I mean both of you. Your negativity reflects on the whole company and I really dislike being in a bad mood until we reach Ered Luin.' Bilbo pointed his index finger at them. ‚I have had it with you two. And if the stew is cold when I get back you will not hear the end of it.'

With these words, the hobbit stomped back to the house and left two stunned members of the company behind. Exchanging a glance, Thorin and Loaren struggled to their feet.

‚I guess we should do as the hobbit says.' Loaren stated dryly and held a hand to Thorin to help him up.

‚Do you really think that you could lift me up?' Thorin asked, his voice dripping with amusement. He could see that Loaren struggled between annoyance and humor.

‚Well, you can lift your royal behind off the floor by yourself, I was just being polite.' she sneered and drew back her hand, but she was not fast enough. Thorin grabbed her hand and pulled her down to him, where she landed on his chest.

‚I demand your loyalty and your service.' Thorin looked her in the eye and sat up together with her. ‚I need to know that I can trust you with the life of my kin.'

‚Have I given you reason to doubt me, my king?' Loaren asked softly and sat back, her hand still in his. Her eyes widened as she saw his features soften.

‚No. But I need to hear it.' Thorin looked at her and pulled her up. He tried to ignore the warm feeling in his guts when she had called him her king.

‚Will the word of a mercenary be enough for you?' Loaren´s expression turned bitter.

‚No, but your´s will be enough.' Thorin stated calmly. He could see many emotions in the woman´s face and recognised many that plagued his own mind, the most prominent one, pride. Taking a deep breath, Loaren closed her eyes.

‚I will give you my word, king Thorin.' Loaren vowed and pulled her hand out of Thorin´s immediately feeling cold.

‚Why? What have I done to deserve your loyalty?' Thorin needed to ask.

Loaren looked at him and for the first time, she seemed to be unsure what to say. She opened her mouth so give him an answer, but then she closed it again and her eyes turned bitter.

‚You pay me.' Loaren replied through clenched teeth and quickly turned around to avoid Thorin´s gaze. She imagined it to be smug and arrogant, for it was the answer he should have expected. But what she could not see, was the confusion and the hurt in his eyes.

Slowly, they returned to the house in silence and sat down at the table, not looking at each other. Bilbo glared at them, for the stew was really almost cold, but the rest of the company looked at them with confused looks.

‚Is everything alright?' Ori cleared his throat and looked at his king and his friend.

‚Yes.' Thorin straightened and took a bowl of stew. ‚We have...set things straight.'

With a hard glance at Loaren, Thorin started eating.

Dinner passed in silence and none of the company dared to say another word.

Dwalin lowered his head over his bowl and shook his head. Apparently, they had not bumped their pigheads together hard enough to solve their problems.

‚Alright,this is enough!' Dwalin glared at his king and the immortal woman. ‚This is worse than your fights with Dis! Just yell a little bit, will ya?'

'Tell me about her.' Loaren spoke up. ‚What am I to expect when I meet her?'

‚She is like Thorin, just smaller, blond and even more stubborn.' Dwalin grinned at Thorin´s frown. ‚Everyone is scared of her.'

‚Maybe you should have sent her into the mountain to defeat Smaug. No offense, master Bilbo.' Loaren muttered. ‚She could have yelled at him to leave.'

‚I thought about it.' Thorin stated dryly and surprised everyone at the table with his humor.

Loaren watched the king´s features soften as he spoke about his sister.

‚You miss her?' she asked him softly and for the first time since they had first met, he smiled back at her, even if the smile did not reach his eyes.

‚Yes, I miss her greatly.'

‚So...' Loaren looked down into her stew. ‚Prince Fili looks like his mother, then?'

‚Aye.' Thorin leaned back and the atmosphere around the table brightened up. ‚But he has his father´s character. Biri was a fine dwarf.'

‚Oh...' Loaren looked at the king in sympathy. ‚I am sorry.'

Thorin bowed his head, but then he smiled. ‚Both of the boys are like their father, thank Mahal. But it was Dis who brought them up on her own.'

‚You helped her, Thorin.' even Dwalin´s tone got soft when he talked about Thorin´s family. ‚You were there when the boys needed a father figure.'

Bilbo was the one who saw Loaren look at Thorin closely, a light smile on her face. But then, her face darkened and she looked sad. It almost seemed as if she was not used to just feel happy and once again, she reminded Bilbo of Thorin.

It was Ori who lightened up the mood again.

‚Oh Mahal, should we tell Kili that Ren is a woman? He was already worried about his sanity!'

‚I beg your pardon?' Loaren looked at Ori with big eyes.

‚Oh aye, the lad was feeling nervous around you, I guess he had seen through your disguise, but could not put a finger on it.' Dwalin snorted into his ale.

‚Oh dear...this is why he looked at me with this funny expression all the time?' Loaren could not help but chuckle. A sound that went right to Thorin´s abdomen.

‚Nah, let us surprise him.' Dwalin grinned. ‚It´s more fun that way.'

‚Poor lad.' Bilbo sighed, but he also grinned.

‚That´s payback.' Thorin smiled fondly at the memory. ‚For my grey hair.'

At Bilbo´s questioning look he added. ‚I got those...' he pointed at his grey streaks in his mane. ‚...from spending too much time with Fili and Kili.'

‚I see.' Loaren tried to bite her tongue, but she could not help it. ‚I thought you were just old.'

Dwalin was the first who roared of laughter, slapping Thorin´s shoulder so hard that the king nearly fell off his chair. Thorin was about to throw a snarly remark towards Loaren, but her smile made him bite his tongue. She looked different when she smiled, carefree and more...feminine. Thorin pressed his lips together and swallowed down his remark. They would end this evening in peace.

0

After a night of peaceful sleep and a hearty breakfast, the small company said their goodbye to Beorn and made for Ered Luin.

‚Goodbye little bunny.' Beorn looked at Bilbo who rolled his eyes at the nickname. ‚I like having you and your friends around, but please – if you return to Erebor with the kin of the proud one – maybe make a detour around my home and Mirkwood. I think I cannot handle more than this share of dwarves in one year.'

The tall skinchanger nodded at the dwarves with a smile and then turned to Loaren.

‚May you find yourself on this journey, pretty immortal.' he told her and softly patted his shoulder before returning to his home.

Loaren just followed him with a confused expression and frowned as she saw that the others were waiting. With a last glance at the peaceful house, she mounted her horse and followed the others south.

The rest of the journey passed swiftly, they did not run into more dangers than a few scattered orcs on their way to the Shire. While Dori and Ori would help Bilbo pack his things, Loaren and Dwalin would accompany Thorin to Ered Luin, but first, Loaren needed to speak to her men. The company would continue on the road to the Shire, while Loaren would spend one night in Bree. But Thorin did not like the idea of sending her into the town of men unprotected.

‚I am the leader of the immortals, I am not defenseless!' Loaren looked at Thorin as he stated that they would stay together. ‚I need to speak to my deputy, this will only take a while. I will catch up with you on the road, my horse is a very fast one.'

Thorin frowned at the woman and remembered his last visit of Bree. It was a filthy town with filthy and honorless inhabitants. The men were not to be trusted, Thorin himself had nearly been attacked in the Prancing Pony if not for Gandalfs arrival. He knew that Loaren was far from defenseless, but he had been brought up a gentledwarf and he would not let a female walk into such a town in her own.

‚We will go with you.' Thorin tried to put his foot down, but the immortal shook her head at his stubborness.

‚You will lose precious time.' Loaren tried to protest, but Thorin reminded her of the fact that she was actually bound to bow to his order.

‚I am you king! You will obey me, woman!' Thorin snarled at the end of his patience. ‚King Dario mentionned that there would be no word of protest from an immortal's lips, has he actually lied to me?'

Loaren was about to yell back into his face as she realised that he was right. She wondered why she had even thought about protesting, she had never defied anyone's orders before. It occured to her, that the journey to the south had shifted their relationship from the king and his subject to a more friendly relationship and that was something that should never have happened. Biting her lip, Loaren took a step back and nodded quietly, with her eyes cast to the ground.

Thorin was more than surprised from the sudden change in the immortal's behaviour and looked at her closely. Only a moment before she had taken a deep breath to defy him, but then something in her eyes had changed, as if she had remembered something. She had remembered her place. Although Thorin wanted to be relieved, her submission almost annoyed him.

‚We will ride to Bree and you have two hours to speak to your men.' Thorin decided at turned his pony towards Bree. ‚After that, we will make for the Shire and will be able to make it before nightfall.'

Ignoring the questioning looks of Ori and Bilbo, Loaren followed her king's lead.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the late update! I try to update once a week, but sometimes things get in the way :D Enjoy!**

With the changed plan and followed by a moody dwarf king and his company, Loaren rode into Bree and made directly for the Inn where her men stayed. She had put on her mask again, so that her appearance would rather intimidate the men of Bree and not catch their interest. The Inn was in a side alley on the northern border or the town, far away from the busy centre. Loaren only hoped that the Inn was homelier than it looked from the outside and took a deep breath when she entered it, followed by Thorin and Dwalin. Dori, Ori and Bilbo would stay outside and watch the ponies and well as their backs.

Thorin took a watchful look around as Loaren strode towards the table where her deputy was sitting; a man in a silver mask with golden stripes. They nodded at each other and Loaren sat down to talk to him. Every man in the Inn had walked out of the way when Loaren had entered and Thorin suspected that the immortals had already earned their respect in that town in one way or another. With his arms crossed, Thorin sat down at a smaller table with Dwalin and watched the immortals with a frown.

'Do you think that they are plotting on killing the insufferable dwarf king, who stares at their leader all the time?' Dwalin ordered two ales and grinned at his king. 'I would.'

'I beg your pardon?' Thorin growled and took a bigger sip of ale as he intended to.

'You have been at each other´s throats since we left the mountain.' Dwalin rolled his eyes. 'Just kiss her or even better, take her into your bed. If she was a dwarf, she would be exactly your type.'

Thorin gave an unkingly snort and actually felt ale come out of his nose. Coughing and gasping for air, Thorin glared at his friend and ignored the looks Loaren´s deputy gave him from across the tables. Loaren was sitting with her back to him and Thorin was sure that she had intended to do so to not have to see him.

'Are you mad?' Thorin managed to growl at Dwalin after he nearly coughed his lungs out. 'This woman will be the death of me and not in a good way. I tell you, when we return to Erebor, it´s her or me. Oh, shut up will ya? I know that you would want it to be her.'

Dwalin chuckled into his pint and already planned to place his bets in this drama. Dori had bet that only one of them would arrive in Erebor and he had bet on Thorin. He suspected that his king would either kill the immortal or annoy her until she broke all her vows and leave with her men.

Loaren made ready to leave again and patted her deputy´s shoulder as she stood up. When Thorin and Dwalin stood up, Dwalin grabbed his king by the shoulder and leaned towards him with a smirk.

'If you hate her that much, why are you staring at her behind?'

He actually made it out the door before a pint crashed at the closed door behind him.

'Your majesty, I am ready to leave.' Loaren stood at Thorin´s side and seemed distant and cold. 'My men will join us in the Blue Mountains in a week, this should give us some time to speak to lady Dis.'

Thorin only nodded and led the way out, happy to leave this dark and inhabitable Inn. He looked forward to see Bilbo´s smial again, the warm and homely hobbit home built into the green hills of the Shire. They would arrive in the Shire before sunset and that would give them time enough to settle down and enjoy a pipe before dinner. Thorin looked at Bilbo when they walked out of the Inn and felt bad for the hobbit. Bilbo had left all of this behind for him, the insufferably stubborn dwarf king and he would leave his home again to honor his friendship and loyalty to Thorin. But this time, Thorin swore to himself, that he would fight to see Bilbo happy, even if it meant that he would have to leave his friend behind. That fact saddened Thorin more than everything else and the only one who saw the sadness in his eyes was Loaren, who looked at the king whenever he was not paying attention. And that, Dwalin saw.

0

‚Oh my goodness, this is so beautiful.' Loaren spoke out loud was everyone in the company was thinking as they rode into the Shire.

Green, soft and flush hills, small rivers and beautiful gardens made Bilbo smile in relief and happiness. He was home again, home sweet home. He could not wait to see Bag End again and unconsciously made his pony ride faster until he could see Bag End. But he did not like what he saw there the slightest. The front garden was full of things, tables, chairs, even his silverware was lying around and his family and friends were actually bidding to take them away. One hobbit walked right past him with one of his chairs, the other one with one of the lamps, then again another one with some fine blankets and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was about to grab the silverware and stuff it into her pockets.

Bilbo could not believe what he saw and called out to the hobbit who dragged his mother´s glory box away. Dwalin, who remembered how much this box meant to the hobbit, made his pony step into the way of the hobbit carrying it and blocked his way. The hobbit was about to protest, but as he saw Dwalin´s frown he quickly closed his mouth and put the box down. Although he had ignored Bilbo before, he now turned around and looked at him for help.

Loaren, as well as Thorin, were about to burst. These hobbits neither cared that Bilbo was back, nor cared to acknowledge his protest. In addition, they even stole from him. There was no way around that, even though they saw him, they did not even try to give him back his belongings.

'And I thought dwarves were rude.' Loaren muttered.

'At least we are openly rude and do not hide behind alleged manners.' Thorin was too shocked about the hobbit´s behaviour to make a snarky remark about what Loaren had said.

Thorin was right about that, but before Loaren could answer to that, she stepped in the way of a sour looking hobbit lady who tried to take off with Bilbo´s silverware. The lady huffed and looked up at the immortal sitting on the horse.

'How dare you, you ugly filth, get out of my way!' she sneered and pushed her hands into her side.

Loaren thought about making her horse step right onto that infuriating hobbit, but she decided that this would probably not make Bilbo´s life in the Shire any easier. So she only took off her mask and glared down at the hobbit.

'My lady hobbit, I suggest that you give master Baggins back his spoons and go back home.' Loaren needed all her strength of will to stay calm.

'And who are you to order me around?' the female hobbit sneered.

'Ah, may I introduce, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins….' Bilbo quickly stepped in. '…..Loaren – from the East. Uhmm….this is awkward.'

'Won´t you tell them to stop this bidding this instant?' Loaren frowned at the hobbits, who had all seen Bilbo arrive but had not stopped the auction. 'And you need to get your things back which have already been auctioned off.'

Bilbo walked up to the auctioner and and talked to him, while the company watched from the side of the road, Dwalin still blocking one hobbit and Loaren still glaring daggers at Lobelia. They could see that Bilbo pulled out the contract from his quest with the dwarves and showed it to the other hobbit.

'I do not believe this, this is outrageous.' Loaren growled and earned a nod from Thorin.

'Well, at least you two agree on that.' Dwalin grinned and had to fight a laugh as Loaren and Thorin both shot him a glare.

'And who is this Thorin Oakenshield?' the hobbit who led the auction asked.

'This would be me.' Thorin spoke up and immediately shut up all the hobbits in the street. He rode towards the older hobbit and looked him straight in the eye. 'I am Thorin Oakenshield and I hired Bilbo Baggins as a – never mind. He is the owner of Bag End and all of these things.'

Loaren watched the dwarf with a guarded expression. Thorin was a majestic dwarf indead, his charisma alone was enough to impress most people. Right now, he managed to own the crowd only by his appearance and radiated the same majestic aura, which had made Loaren recognize him as the real king when she had arrived in Erebor many weeks ago. Behind her, Dwalin rolled his eyes at her dreamy expression.

0

Some hours later, after the crowd had walked back to their own homes and most of Bilbo´s belongings were carried back to Bag End, the company sat down in Bilbo´s living room, where all of his belongings were arranged in a chaotic mess. They had lit the fire in the cosy fireplace and Bilbo had hung up the two portraits of his parents above the fireplace with a gentle hand and a loving expression.

'If these halflings – and no, I am not sorry – won´t bring you back all of your belongings, I will get men and will ask for them.' Loaren remarked with a threatening tone and made Thorin nod in agreement. 'I still cannot believe how they treated you. This was more than rude, especially for the ones who deem themselves well mannered.'

'It´s how they are, they do not…this situation is…..special.' Bilbo tried to excuse his folk, but he was as shocked as his friends about the unexpected welcome. He had been happy to return home, now everything was a mess. He decided to cook some dinner for the company with the few things that he had managed to pick up from the market and told the company to make themselves comfortable in his living room, for he needed the peace and quiet in his kitchen.

'This hobbit lady took the spoons.' Loaren was still furious. She hated the fact that they had to stay civil. 'I would love to…no, I will get them back.'

'You do not even know where she lives.' Ori whispered to not alert Bilbo.

'I will knock on every door until I have found her.' Loaren decided and walked to the door. 'And while I am at it, I will remind those halflings that every item is to be returned to Bilbo Baggins until sunrise or I will come back.'

'No need to wear your mask, your expression now is just fine.' Dwalin told her with a smirk and grinned as he frown even got deeper. 'There you go, that face is even scarier.'

With a furious growl, Loaren turned around on her heels and stormed off to the door. Thorin looked after her with his arms crossed in front of his chest, but then he nodded and followed her without a word. As the door slammed shut behind them, Bilbo stepped out of the kitchen.

'Where did they go?' he asked with a worried tone.

'Oh, they only walked out to fight again.' Dwalin quickly covered for them.

'Oh….well….alright…' Bilbo sighed and returned to the kitchen, while Dori and Ori smiled at Dwalin´s quick answer.

'Good call.' Dori whispered.

‚I lived with Thorin, Fili and Kili for a long time, I am good with covering my own behind when they screwed things up.' Dwalin muttered. ‚I do not know about you, but I am hungry and I need a bed. I do not care what they are doing tonight, but we will eat and sleep like we deserve it.'

With a shrug, Dwalin walked to the fireplace where Bilbo had placed a jar with cookies again and dug into it, while Dori looked for the teapot to make some tea and Ori buried himself in Bilbo's books. They only hoped that Thorin and Loaren would let the hobbit lady see the next day.

0

Thorin and Loaren did not even fight once on their way through Hobbiton. Engaged on the same goal, they worked as a perfect team and managed to find out where Lobelia was living, as well as reminding everyone that Bilbo´s belonging s were to be returned immediately. Most hobbits were more afraid of Thorin than of Loaren, but then again, Loaren did not mean to frighten them, she only wanted to scare the living daylight out of Lobelia. She despised the hobbit who had so shamelessly stolen from her cousin. When they had arrived at Lobelia´s door, Thorin had to hold back her husband Otho, who tried to attack Loaren with his wife´s umbrella. Thorin held him back for his own sake, for he did not want to risk that the umbrella would be shoved into a place which was probably the most scared for this hobbit by Loaren, who was beyond furious by now.

'I will count to five and then you will give me the spoons you stole or I swear by all the gods, that I will get them myself.' Loaren grinded her teeth and gave Lobelia her best glare.

'You would not dare!' the hobbit shrieked. 'I will get the Thain, I will tell him that you are threatening me in my own home.'

'Oh, please do so.' Loaren smiled bitterly. 'I will tell him then, that you took the spoons from Bilbo Baggins although he is in fact not dead. I will tell him that you stole from his grandson – oh yes, Bilbo told me about his big family. I will tell him that you stole from his grandson, who is the barrel rider, the dragon riddler and the hero of Erebor. And then, I will take the spoons from your cold hands.'

Lobelia made a step backwards and almost ran into her kitchen to retrieve the spoons. She thought about just giving back half of them, but the look on the woman´s face as well as the thunderous expression of the dwarf, who was supposed to be royalty, scared her. The woman nodded grimly as she gave back the spoons and wished her and her husband a good night before Otho was shoved into the smial by the dwarf and the door was closed with a loud bang.

Loaren looked at the spoons in her hand and then looked at Thorin, who looked quite pleased. 'Bilbo will kill me for this.'

'You just knocked half the inhabitants of Hobbiton out of their beds and you got these spoons back from that harpy. You are the leader of the most deadly mercenaries in Middle Earth and you fear our hobbit´s reaction?' Thorin asked amused.

'Meh….' Loaren smiled grimly. 'We are called immortals, but we are not. Thank goodness – I want to die honorably on the battlefield one day. Well, more or less honorably…..'

Loaren almost let out a very unwarriorlike squeak as Thorin grabbed her arms and turned her around towards him.

'I apologise about my words towards you.' Thorin took a deep breath. 'They were uncalled for and you have never given me reason to doubt you or your men.'

Loaren looked at the dwarf with bigs eyes. 'You did not choke on your apology, I am impressed.'

'Not funny, woman.' Thorin tried not to be amused by her remark. He did not know why he felt the urge to apologize, but he took the chance to make things right. 'I am apologizing here, the least you could do is acknowledge it.'

'Fine.' Loaren smiled. 'I will think about it.'

'You will think about it?' Thorin let go of her arm and glared at her.

'You have been nothing but disrespectful towards me from the start and now you expect me to forgive you that easily?' Loaren was indeed ready to forgive him, but she would let him hang for a while, it was too much fun.

Thorin was about to tell her that Bilbo had easily forgiven him although he had done worse things to him, but he stopped himself in the last minute. He was still ashamed of his actions at the gate before the battle of the Five Armies and did not want Loaren to know how badly he behaved under the dragon curse.

Loaren watched him closely and started to worry as a sad expression crossed his handsome features. To lighten up the mood, Loaren started to walk down the rolling hills and small roads. 'We should be heading back, I am sure that dinner is ready by now.'

Thorin nodded and looked at Loaren, who stood in front of him with a questioning look.

'What is it?' Thorin asked and waited for Loaren to start walking.

'I have no idea where we are, I did not pay attention to where we were going.' Loaren admitted with a shrug of her shoulder. 'You have been here before, lead on.'

Loaren jumped as a very unkingly curse left Thorin´s lips.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sweetness ahead :) Please review!**

'What do you mean, you do not know where we are?' Loaren looked at Thorin in surprise.' I thought that you…..?'

'I arrived at Bag End in the middle of night the last time, I got lost twice. If not for a mark on the door I would not have found it at all and would have had to ask for directions. ' Thorin admitted and tried not to look sheepish. 'These hills all look the same.'

'In Erebor everything looks the same as well!' Loaren could not believe it.

'Yes, but Erebor is made of rock and stone. It is my home, I could find my way blindly.' Thorin defended himself. 'Maybe we should ask for directions.'

'And scare all of those people out of their beds again?' Loaren asked and grinned at the king.

'Point taken.' Thorin took a deep breath and started to walk up the hill. 'Hobbiton is not that big, maybe we will remember which doors we have passed on our way here.'

'Alright.' Loaren sighed. 'Where you lead, I will follow.'

'I will remember this day as one of my biggest victories.' Thorin snorted and took the lead, not seeing the amused grin on Loaren´s face.

While Thorin and Loaren tried to find their way back to bag End, Bilbo called for dinner for the third time and huffed as Thorin and Loaren were still missing.

'Keeping us all from our well deserved dinner is even more rude than my lovely cousin Lobelia was….' Bilbo grumbled. 'Where are they? I thought that they were right in front of my door? Although I was surprised to have not heard any yelling.'

'Well…..' Ori looked at his feet and Dori tried to advert him with a cup of camomile tea.

'They did not actually go out to fight – each other.' Dwalin admitted. 'They went out to visit your cousin Lobelia and nicely ask her to give the spoons back.'

'Oh dear…' Bilbo paled at the news. 'Thorin? And Loaren? Ask nicely? Great. Wait a minute, does that mean that Loaren is out there with the dwarf who got lost twice the last time he was here? I checked, there is no mark on my door anymore, they will wander the Shire forever!'

0

'I think we passed that door twice already.' Thorin sighed and looked at a yellow door with an ornament roof on top.

'No, we passed a yellow door with the doorknob in the middle, this one has the doorknob on the left side.' Loaren mused. 'And the garden is different.'

'How is the garden different?' Thorin could not even tell if there was a garden in front of the other smial.

'This garden has roses by the door, the other one had a herb garden on the right side of the door and a flower garden on the left.' Loaren frowned and tried to remember the other hobbit holes they had passed on their way to Lobelia´s home.

Thorin shook his head and cursed his luck for getting lost yet again. He would never hear the end of it when they returned to Bag End. They continued walking up the hill, but after a while, they stood at the border of the Shire, staring into the dark surrounding the peaceful green hills. Deciding that they had probably taken the wrong turn by the water, they walked back and tried another path – and another – and another. In the end, they stood in front of a big tree in the middle of Hobbiton and sighed.

'This has no use.' Loaren took an apple from a tree nearby and bit into it. 'I am hungry and my feet are killing me. And you look…tired.'

'Thank you very much.' Thorin remarked and also took an apple. He sat down at the bottom of the tree and leaned back. 'We should just stay here and wait for Bilbo to find us.'

'Stay here?' Loaren cocked an eyebrow at the king. 'Under this tree? In the middle of Hobbiton? What about the Inn?'

'Would you find the Inn?' Thorin asked and almost grinned as Loaren huffed in desperation and sat down beside him. 'It is a warm night, we will be fine. Although I had hoped for a soft bed and a hearty dinner.'

'Me too.' Loaren swallowed the rest of her apple. 'And where is it warm? I am feeling chilly.'

'You got to be joking.' Thorin looked at her and could see that she was shivering a bit.

'I am from the East, remember?' Loaren tried to stay warm in pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them. 'It´s warm where I come from.'

'Do you miss your home?' Thorin asked quietly and pulled of his cloak without thinking.

'Sometimes.' Loaren jumped as she felt something heavy on her shoulders. 'What are you doing?'

'No matter what you think, I was raised a gentledwarf, I will not stand by and watch while you are freezing.' Thorin grumbled and turned back to his side of the tree. Their shoulders were slightly toughing and for some reason, the part where they touched felt warm.

Loaren looked down at the warm fur cloak on her shoulders and tried not to snuggle into the fur and inhale the scent she had learned to like so much….he smelled like sandalwood, cedar and cinnamon and it made her feel unfocused, dizzy and lightheaded. Focusing on the present, Loaren took a deep breath and tried to sound nonchalant.

'Thank you, king Thorin, but will you not be cold?'

'I will manage.' Thorin cleared his throat and tried to find a comfortable position against the tree. He did not feel cold, in fact he had started to feel uncomfortably warm with Loaren at his side. Neither of them spoke again and soon, Thorin heard Loaren take long and even breaths. When he turned around, he saw her curled up in his coat, her nose buried in the fur and her whole body curled up underneath the coat. Thorin could not help but smile at the sight, he could not believe that this woman was in fact a trained warrior and a mercenary. Loaren seemed to have been more tired than he had thought, but he was not feeling tired, but wide awake. Leaning back against the tree, Thorin felt an inner peace that he had not felt for a long time. He could see the stars above the soft hills in front of them and Hobbiton was slowly preparing for the night, the hobbit homes darkening and the oil lamps on the streets slowly fading. Fireflies were moving from the gardens to the big tree and Thorin softly reached out for Loaren, waking her up. The woman softly moaned into his cloak, but Thorin leaned closer to not scare her out of her sleep.

Loaren felt a warm hand on her shoulder and tried to snuggle deeper into the coat, but the hand was persistent. With a tired frown, Loaren opened her eyes and immediately felt as if time had stood still. The world had stopped turning and not even her heart gave a beat when she looked up into Thorin´s blue eyes. She had never seen that look in his eyes before when he had looked at her, it was a look of curiosity, peace and happiness. He looked careless and young, his eyes shining in the light of hundreds of fireflies. Slowly, Loaren became aware of their surroundings and managed to tear her gaze away from the dwarf king´s face. What she saw was nearly as beautiful as Thorin, it was magical and incredibly peaceful.

'Suddenly I understand why the hobbit never set foot out of the Shire.' Loaren murmured and made Thorin nod in agreement. 'This is so beautiful. Did you wake me up because of….?'

'I wanted you to see this.' Thorin told her and moved away from her again to clear his mind. When Loaren had opened her eyes and had looked at him, her brown eyes had peaked out from behind the fur collar of his coat and had taken his breath away. But for once, he did not worry about any of this, it seemed as if the peace and quiet of the Shire had taken his doubts and worries away.

'This is the nicest thing you ever said to me.' Loaren murmured from below his coat and made Thorin smiled sadly.

'I can be nice.' Thorin remarked dryly and pouted at Loaren´s snort.

'Yes, to your nephews, to your kin and to Bilbo.' Loaren sighed deeply. 'I have never seen you being nice to anyone else but them.'

Thorin looked down at her with such a hurt puppy look, that Loaren immediately felt sorry. But as she straightened up and wanted to apologise, they had shifted towards each other and their noses brushed when Loaren turned back towards him. Her mind went black as she realized how close they were.

'You really have a big nose.' was all she could say before their lips met.

0

The big party tree in Hobbiton was illuminated in the light of hundreds of fireflies when Thorin and Loaren kissed for the first time. The kiss started very innocently, their lips brushed together and apart again, barely applying pressure on the other. It was Loaren who first pressed her lips against Thorin´s thin ones, softly and shyly. Thorin then captured her lower lip between his and gently sucked at it before moving upwards, while his hands moved up to stroke the side of her face. Loaren´s hands were buried in Thorin´s tunic, grabbing and wrinkling it, but when she felt his hands move, she slowly let go of the hem of his tunic and moved her hands over his strong chest. Deeply breathing through their noses, both moved closer to each other, Thorin´s one arm moving around Loaren, pushing her firmly against him and Loaren´s hands moving into his collar, touching his skin and moving over the coarse chest hair on his upper chest. They broke the kiss as Thorin gently moved his tongue against Loaren´s soft lips, asking permission to deepen the kiss. Loaren pulled back in surprise, not really believing what was happening, but when she looked at Thorin she forgot her doubts and leaned into the kiss again. Loaren moaned quietly when Thorin´s tongue entered her mouth first carefully, then teasing. She smiled into the kiss as Thorin practically prompted her to join the dance of their tongues and the playful nibbling at each other´s lips. Loaren moved her hand into Thorin´s beard, softly stroking through the soft hair and moving her hand over his strong jaw. This for a dwarf very forward gesture, made Thorin growl into the kiss and deepen it passionately, his tongue battling for domination. This time, Loaren´s moan was louder and more desperate for more and Thorin complied happily. Pushing her against the big root of the tree, Thorin made her lean back and moved on top her her, holding himself up on one elbow to not crush her. One of her legs was buried underneath him and the other moved up his side, pushing him closer down to her, while Thorin´s big hand moved over her thigh and towards her bottom. Loaren gasped into the kiss as Thorins calloused fingers slipped below her tunic and moved over her skin, leaving a burning trail. When he pressed his palm against her hot skin over her stomach, Loaren stopped his hand in reflex, grabbing his wrist.

‚Thorin...your majesty, I...' Loaren struggled with the words, but frowned as she felt Thorin chuckle against the side of face. ‚Is this amusing to you?'

Thorin bit his lip and pulled back to look into her annoyed face. ‚I think that we are way past „your majesty" don't you think?'

His words made Loaren realise what a mistake she had made. She had kissed the king had let him touch her in this intimate way...and she had loved it. But how was this supposed to work? He was the king of Erebor and she was a simple mercenary. There would never be more between them than these kisses shared the magical peace of the Shire. Loaren still thought about what to say as she felt Thorin's fingers under her chin, forcing her head up.

‚Do you regret this?' Thorin's voice was quiet and rough and his eyes bore hers with a force that made her dizzy. ‚Because I do not.'

‚How can you not regret this?' Loaren whispered. ‚This will never...we will never...you are the king, you have duties. And I am a mere warrior, a mercenary. I am not even a dwarf. You do not even like me!'

Loaren blurted out the last sentence and made Thorin smile. ‚Would I do this if I did not like you?' he asked playfully and gave her a soft and short kiss.

‚Where is the moody and insufferable king whom I pledged to serve?' Loaren asked quietly and tried not to lean into a new kiss.

‚Do you miss him?' Thorin asked.

‚Yes...' Loaren needed all her strength to keep the rest of the sentence to herself. He was the one she had fallen in love with.

0

Much to Thorin's surprise, Loaren's reaction did not discourage him. He felt a peace that he had not felt in almost a hundred and fifty years. There he was, a dwarven king of almost twohundred years of age, sitting below a tree in the Shire and kissing a woman he barely knew because he had not taken the time to ever get to know her. She was right, he had not even liked her in the beginning, he had never trusted her and he had thought her to be a woman without any honor. But he felt so happy at the moment; with her in his arms. It just felt right.

‚Say something.' Loaren's pleading voice woke him from his reverie.

‚What do you want me to say?' Thorin leaned back against the tree and watched Loaren pull down her tunic and sit up.

‚You could explain to me why you behaved like the biggest idiot under the mountain for months and suddenly decide that you...like me. And kiss me.' Loaren stood up and started pacing.

‚My sister is the only one who ever called me an idiot.' Thorin stated amused and sat back against the tree.

‚Well, then it was about time.' Loaren sat back down again, but this time opposite of Thorin. ‚What is this? Tell me?'

‚This...' Thorin told her smugly. ‚...was a kiss. A fine one, if I may add.'

‚You look smug.' Loaren crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the king.

‚I remember a certain immortal struggling for breath because of this kiss, I do feel smug.' Thorin chuckled as he saw Loaren frown deeply at him. But when her expression changed into a sad one, he leaned towards her and took her hand.

‚What are you afraid of?' Thorin asked her and wondered at the same time that he was not afraid at all. He had never been good with the other gender and to be perfectly honest, he had never wanted more than physical relief from most of the females he had ever laid with.

‚I am not afraid.' even to Loaren's ears, that sounded lame.

‚Then you won't stop me from doing this...?' Thorin leaned forward and captured her lips is another kiss.

Loaren wanted to pull away at first, but the sweetness of the kiss and the warmth of Thorin's lips made her melt into the kiss and made her doubts fade into oblivion. His beard scratched over her face in a delicious way and his ringed fingers moved into her hair, softly tugging at the curly streaks. This time, Loaren let herself be pulled against a strong chest and sighed contently as warm arms encircled her waist. For a shot moment, both Thorin and Loaren enjoyed the magical gleam of the fireflies and the stars above and around them, before they fell into a peaceful slumber.

0

Thorin woke up to hissing and sneering, which soured his mood instantly. He had wanted to wake up with Loaren in his arms, like he had done twice at night. The hard ground and the root in his back had made him shift at night, but the warm weight of the woman in his arms had made him lean back and smile into her curls. Her hands had grabbed his tunic in her sleep and she had wrapped her leg around him in order to keep warm, since she was still chilly. Now, Thorin woke up alone, with his back aching and sight of two female hissing at each other.

‚This is outrageous, you slept under our party tree like...like...vagabonds!' Lobelia Sackville-Baggins had stomped with her foot while speaking and Thorin could not understand her uproar. ‚You two are not even married, how dare you?' Oh.

‚I think that this is none of your business, mistress hobbit.' Loaren sneered. ‚But I assure you, next time, I will knock on your door again and ask for directions in the middle of night.'

If we would have found her door, Thorin thought with an amused smirk and tried to stand up. He needed a while and he swore that he had heard some bones crack in the attempt. Grumbling into his beard, he mused if he was indeed getting old.

‚We apologize, misstress hobbit and we will take our leave before you wake up all of Hobbiton. Have a good day.' Thorin was surprised about his behaviour, but knew that he had to leave before either he or Loaren would throw that horrible hobbit lady into the nearest pond. How Bilbo managed to live with her as a part of his own family was beyond him.

On their way up the next hill, Loaren looked at him with a careful expression.

‚We still do not know the way.' Loaren admitted to herself that they were lost in more than way.

‚We will figure it out.' Thorin assured her with a soft smile and hoped that she would get the ambiguity.


	12. Chapter 12

'Where in the name of the sweet lady have you been?' Bilbo was waiting for them at the door of his cozy smial. It had taken Thorin and Loaren half of the morning to find Bag End and they only found it because Loaren had asked a hobbit for directions. 'You missed first breakfast!'

'We…..' Loaren did not even manage to finish the sentence.

'You!' Bilbo pointed his finger at Thorin. 'You got lost again, am I right?'

'Well….' Thorin grinned sheepishly and made Bilbo throw his hands in the air. 'We have your spoons.'

'My spoons…..' Bilbo frowned at them and seemed to be torn between annoyance and amusement. 'And what did you do to retrieve them? Turn the Shire upside down?'

'No, we turned your cousin upside down…' Loaren joked, but quickly shut her mouth at Bilbo´s glare.

'Not. Funny. At. All.' Bilbo sighed and tried to hide his grin. Of course he was grateful and touched that his friends had gone through all of this for his spoons, but he would have to answer a few uncomfortable questions from his fellow hobbits lateron. 'Where have you been all night? Did a hobbit take you in?'

'Ah….' Loaren shuffled her feet, so Thorin answered the question.

'We slept under the big tree…the party tree, I believe?' Thorin saw Bilbo´s eyes widen in amusement.

'Under the party tree?' Bilbo could not fight a big grin. Then he turned around and rushed into the Bag End. 'Oh dear….'

While Thorin and Loaren looked at each other in confusion, the rest of the company erupted into roaring laughter inside of Bag End. It took a while for Thorin and Loaren to come in, for they hoped that they were indeed not sure if they were welcome after staying away all night, but they only saw grinning faces in the kitchen when they sat down for second breakfast. Dwalin sported the biggest grin and Ori hid his grin behind a huge cup.

'What?' Thorin asked after a long and annoying silence.

'Oh, nothing…..we´re just sorry that we missed the party.' Dwalin stated and made Dori choke on his tea.

Loaren watched the dwarves and Bilbo and could not help but feel a tingle down her spine, something was going on and the hobbit looked amused and worried at the same time.

'Bilbo, will you tell us what we did wrong?' Loaren did not even bother ask the dwarves who acted like younglings at the moment. 'If we broke some Shire law, then maybe we should…..'

'Oh no, you did not break any law.' Bilbo turned around with a pan in his hands. 'But…well…..'

'Mahal, you tell them or I will burst right here, right now, master hobbit.' Dwalin roared and seemed to want to spill the beans himself.

Bilbo shook his head, but could not fight back a wide grin as he turned towards Thorin and Loaren. 'The big tree you slept under is called the party tree. All our parties are held on the meadow around it and it is our finest wedding location. The tree is hundreds of years old and the only people sleeping under it are…..hobbits….in their wedding night. They see it as a blessing by Yavanna and…..well, you get the gist?'

Both, Thorin and Loaren, looked back at him with big eyes.

'You are practically married now after Shire law, you already had your wedding night…'

'Oh Mahal, I have to sit down.' Thorin had turned pale and did not blink.

Loaren remembered the fuzz Lobelia had made this morning and suddenly, all of it made sense.

'Your cousin Lobelia found us and yelled us out of our sleep.' Loaren looked at Bilbo, who started laughing uncontrollably.

'Oh no! Then by now, all the Shire will know!' Bilbo had to sit down because his knees had gone weak of laughter.

'Wait, wait!' Dori held up a hand and tried to remain calm. 'Are we talking serious here? Because Thorin is our king and apparently he had no idea what he was doing.'

'Thank you, Dori, big help.' Thorin muttered and realized that he was already sitting. But maybe he should lie down, he felt like it.

'You cannot be serious.' Loaren would not believe it. 'We are not married. We are not hobbits.'

'To hobbits, you are married now.' Bilbo grinned. 'They will, of course, understand that you did not sleep there on purpose, but they will want to have a big wedding ceremony now. You did it in the wrong order of things, but they will understand. This is pretty big news. Never before has royalty gotten married in the Shire!'

Loaren covered her face with her hands and Thorin looked – Bilbo looked closer at his friend and king. Thorin looked torn between shock and something else. Bilbo would have expected him to yell and wanting to annul this marriage this instant. But something in his face made Bilbo wonder wether Thorin was so appalled to it. It was nonsense of course, he could not stand the immortal woman and she did not like him one bit. Did she?

'So, he is really married?' Dori looked as if he could not decide wether to be amused or shocked.

'Probably only in the Shire.' Ori pipped in. 'They did not sign any document or have an official ceremony.'

'They are only married in the Shire, yes.' Bilbo grinned. 'And there are no divorces in the Shire.'

'What? Never?' Dwalin had still not stopped grinning. 'Ohho, Dis will love this.'

'Fili and Kili will be so disappointed that they had not been there. Wait, we all have not been there…' Ori could not help but chuckle into his tea.

'Alright….let´s all calm down before Thorin faints.' Bilbo sat down at the table and served second breakfast. 'Shire laws are only binding in the Shire. So you do not need to worry, outside of the Shire you two are free as birds.'

Loaren was still cupping her face in her hands and Thorin only nodded silently.

'So when is the big party?' Dwalin asked and earned a deathglare from Thorin. 'Ah, there he is, I was already getting worried.'

'There will be no party, we are not married.' Thorin growled and Loaren nodded along faintly.

'My fellow hobbits will be so disappointed.' Bilbo remarked dryly and cocked an eyebrow at Thorin, who frowned at him in return.

'We knocked half of Hobbiton out of their beds, yesterday, I am sure that they would not even want to come to our wedding.' Loaren stated and jumped at Thorin´s glare. 'What? I was not saying that we will have a wedding.'

'Nono, you already had a wedding, technically, you only need a party.' Bilbo insisted and made the other dwarves laugh again.

Thorin and Loaren needed fresh air, but they did not want to walk out together to not support any rumors that might be afloat in the Shire. Thorin walked out the front door and Loaren sneeked into Bag End´s back yard. Thorin was soon joined by Bilbo, who offered him a pipe and Ori sat down beside Loaren, with a cup of camomille. They met again at lunch and did not dare to look at each other.

'Husband.' Thorin nearly jumped at Loaren´s dry comment as she sat down beside him.

'Wife.' he could not help but throw it back at her and waited for a reaction.

'This is not as weird as I thought it would be.' Loaren remarked and made Dwalin roar of laughter.

'You two already behaved like an old married couple after all.' Dwalin took a deep sip of his ale before he dug into the stew. Eating seven times a day really seemed to agree with him.

'Do all married dwarves fight like that?' Bilbo looked up in shock as all dwarves said "yes". 'Oh dear.'

'Please, do not tell me that me fighting with you actually made you think that I was interested?' Loaren whispered to Thorin and made him smile grimly.

'Definetly not. You squeezing the air out of my lungs in Beorn´s garden might have done the trick.' Thorin grumbled and jumped as Dwalin slapped his shoulder.

'Oh yes, the incident in Beorn´s garden! Bilbo told us all about that!' Dwalin roared and this time, Thorin and Loaren glared at the hobbit who had the decency to look away.

Loaren felt as if she was surrounded by children and began to feel annoyed. But she and Thorin needed to talk in private. She turned to Thorin and quietly asked him to follow her to Bilbo´s study and left the table. Thorin looked down at his untouched stew and winced, for he was really hungry, but he also felt the need to talk to her. When they left the table, Thorin rolled his eyes at Dwalin and Dori who started taking bets on what they would be doing. Even Bilbo, the fairweather-friend, placed a bet.

He joined Loaren in Bilbo´s study and closed the door behind him. Loaren stood by the window and slowly turned around when the door was closed.

'Please, do not joke about this, I have had enough jokes for one day.' she sighed and Thorin nodded, for he felt the same. But then again, he did not feel too bad about this and apparently it showed.

'Will you not say anything about this?' Loaren asked him and sat down on the floor with her back against the book shelves.

'What do you want me to say?' Thorin asked awkwardly and stayed by the door.

'Yell, be angry, annoyed, grumpy…anything, just….do not stand there with an expression as if it was….fine.' Loaren was shocked about the news, but Thorin´s reaction scared her more.

'We are only married in the Shire and we will probably leave the Shire in a week, never to come back.' Thorin told her and slowly moved towards her. 'And I believe that there are worst things that could have happened.'

Loaren looked up and saw a faint expression of hurt on Thorin´s face before he could hide it. This confounded dwarf only confused her, she could not make any sense out of his behaviour.

'You hated me.' Loaren whispered and looked down at her hands around her knees. 'You despise all that I am and you have showed it to me from the moment we met. What changed?'

Thorin looked down at the woman and felt anger rise in his chest. Not anger about her words, but about his own behaviour. He had always kept people at arm´s length, only few had managed to reach his heart. In fact, Bilbo had been the first outside of his kin and he had also endured Thorin´s cold and distant side for a long time. And now there was Loaren. He could not even tell when it had happened. He could not tell when he had started to fell more for her than a king towards a guard.

'I do not know.' Thorin sat down on the floor in front of her. 'I am not good with feelings, I did not even know that I had any besides my rage, my anger and my grief.'

'You are not used to being happy.' Loaren looked at him and smiled sadly. 'I know that feeling.'

'I know.' Thorin looked back at her and refrained from taking her hand. 'I saw the same sadness and bitterness in your eyes.'

'Is it not there anymore?' Loaren asked and held his gaze.

'Not since we set foot in the Shire.' Thorin told her and gave her an amused smile. 'This really is a magical place.'

Loaren chuckled and leaned back against the shelf. 'But what now? How is this supposed to work? What was all of this? Temporal relief? The magical moment? What am I to you? I should be nothing more than the leader of your mercenaries.'

'You are more than that, you should know this by now.' Thorin could clearly see the doubt on her face. 'Why do you doubt me?'

'I do not doubt you. I doubt us.' Loaren sighed. 'This is not right.'

'Why do you say that?' Thorin did not want to admit that he had the same doubts, but somehow he managed to ignore the nagging in his head. He had been hard headed all his life and he had put his own interest aside for the good of his kin. Now, he had the chance for own happiness and the fact that he might have found it in this woman of all people, nearly made him laugh out loud.

'You are the king of Erebor.' Loaren spoke slowly. 'I am the exiled daughter of an eastern king, a mercenary and a woman without honor. Honor means everything to your people. There is no way that there will be more between us.'

'My people decide for themselves whom they deem honorable.' Thorin wanted to sit down beside her, but his legs had gone numb from kneeling for such a long time. But he remembered that he himself had called the immortals dishonorable and his people usually followed his lead. 'I have….been….wrong with my judgement of you and your men.'

Loaren looked at him with a careful smile. 'Not that I do not appreciate the second apology in less than one day, but even if your kin would think highly of me…you are the king. You will need a royal dwarven princess at your side, not a rag tag exiled woman from the east. I know how this works, Thorin. Royalty has no say in matters of love. Politics reasons over love, that is how it was and always will be.'

'I have an heir.' Thorin managed to move closer to Loaren. He was sick of debating and he only wanted to kiss her again. 'I do not need a queen and I do not need a princess.'

'And what am I then?' Loaren frowned at him. 'Your concubine, your mistress?'

'Well, I am the king…..' Thorin gave her a grin. '….having a woman in my bed who could defend herself and me at all times would be a real progress. You could be a royal guard and my concubine….Ouch, for Mahal´s sake, that was a joke!'

Loaren had taken a heavy book from the shelf and had slammed it onto Thorin´s head. She was about to snarl at him when they heard voices outside the door.

'I would have slapped him moments ago!' that was Ori.

'Royal concubine and guard at once, my hairy behind, thank goodness that I am no female!' and that was Dwalin.

'Talking about bed, he should get her into bed first anyway….this tree thing does not count!' and there was Dori.

Loaren cocked an eyebrow at Thorin, who only rolled his eyes in amusement. But he was tired of talking. On wobbling knees, he pulled her up and against the shelf behind her, capturing her lips in a gentle, but demanding, kiss. Loaren gasped in surprise, but her gasp was swallowed by Thorin´s lips on hers.

'We have five days before we need to get to Ered Luin.' Thorin broke the kiss, but stayed close to Loaren. 'And we still have a wedding to plan.'

Thorin had said the last words louder than he had to and both waited for the dwarves outside of the door to react. At first, there was stunned silence, but then, a higher voice broke through the door.

'I need to get to the market, we need food – loads of food – flowers, ale and I need to spread the word that there is a party! Come on, lads, get cracking!' apparently, Bilbo had also waited in front of the door like the other nosy dwarves.

Loaren let her forehead fall onto Thorin´s shoulder. 'You got to be joking me.'

Thorin only smiled into her hair and pulled her close. 'It would be rude ignoring the Shire´s customs, wouldn´t it? Besides, we have not had a big party for a long time. This should be nice.'

'This would be our wedding.' Loaren remarked dryly. 'And you call the party "nice"?'

'The others are gone, we could discuss that and I could make up for all the stupid things I already know that I will say afterwards.' Thorin gave her a wolfish grin, before he moved his hands below her tunic and pulled her against him again.


	13. Chapter 13

'Nope.' Loaren grinned and pushed Thorin away. It took a lot of strength and her arms almost betrayed her, but she would not let him get his way by succumbing to his kiss and his strong arms.

Thorin looked at her in surprise, but as he saw her playful grin, he dared to come closer again.

'You want a Shire wedding?' Loaren teased. 'Well then, you will have to court me like a hobbit. Cook some food, give me flowers, do….hobbity stuff. And then…..we will see.'

Thorin needed a while to absorb what she had just said, but as the door slammed shut behind her, he came to his senses. Court like a hobbit? He could not cook, he could not tell the difference between flowers and weeds and he had no clue what "hobbit stuff" was. It was his idea to respect the Shire´s customs and the knowledge that they would only be married in a place where they would never return to gave the whole thing something unofficial and elusive. Thorin took his time and sat down in Bilbo´s chair. He had always been a dwarf who had honored his word. Only once, in the darkest times in his memory, he had failed himself and broken his word. He had sworn to himself that he would never make the same mistake again. If he married Loaren in the Shire, he would be bound to her, even if not after their own laws. But a wedding was sacred and he did not want to dishonor the customs of the Shire, nor Loaren, nor himself. Loaren was right, they could not go through with this. Standing up slowly, Thorin thought about what to do and walked to the door. His fellow dwarves were about to depart for the market and Bilbo and Loaren were in the kitchen and turned around when they heard his heavy footsteps.

'We will need to talk to the Thain.' Thorin told Bilbo and felt relief washing through his veins as Loaren smiled at him a nodded. 'He can have a party, but it will not be a wedding.'

Bilbo looked at Loaren, who nodded in agreement and sighed deeply. 'I am really not surprise, I will tell you that. But you will have to tell Dwalin, he was already looking forward to catching the bouquet.'

And with that, the company left Bag End for the market and the Thain, the dwarves loudly discussing, Dwalin pouting and Bilbo shaking his head about his companions.

0

The Thain looked at Thorin and Loaren with an expression Thorin knew from his own grandfather, it was an expression of gentle reproach. Together with Bilbo, they had first introduced the company to the Thain, turned down Lobelia´s untenable accusations and then approached him with the matter of the wedding customs.

'I see that both, king Oakenshield and lady Loaren, have not been familiar with our customs, nevertheless…' the Thain sighed and Bilbo began to nervously wiggle his nose. '….nevertheless, it is the law that a couple bonded by Yavanna shall not be separated.'

The Thain listened to Thorin´s and Loaren´s protest, but he only smiled when he looked upon the dwarf and the woman and shook his head.

'I accept the offer of a party held by your company to honor the Shire´s hospitality and I would be honored to come to the party myself. I will refrain from speaking any wedding vows, but let me remind you that not even I can go against Yavanna´s wishes. Not even a king can.' the Thain blinked at Thorin and then politely guided them out of his smial.

The door closed behind the three companions and Bilbo took a deep breath.

'Well, that went well.' he remarked and grinned when Thorin and Loaren muttered curses under their breath. 'Come now, we have a party to plan, I am sure that Dwalin already had a lot of ideas.'

Dwalin, Ori and Dori were waiting at the Inn and looked up expectantly as their king joined them. By the look on his face, they knew that they had not really gotten far with the Thain.

'So, there will be a wedding?' Dwalin rubbed his hands.

'No!' Thorin and Loaren both exclaimed and made Ori jump.

'The Thain will not speak any wedding vows at the party, but he insisted that the happy couple was blessed by Yavanna.' Bilbo explained.

'So…are you married or not?' Dori wanted to know and Ori nodded along curiously.

'We…..seem to be married in the eyes of the hobbits.' Thorin looked at Bilbo who nodded. 'But according to the laws of dwarves and men, we are not.'

'Mahal, that´s complicated.' Ori looked at them with wide eyes. 'And the party will be thrown in honor of…..half a wedding….?'

'The party will be given by all of us in honor of the warm welcome we received when we arrived.' Loaren stated dryly and made Dwalin snort.

'What Loaren means to say is that a party will lighten up the atmosphere and who does not like a nice party?' Bilbo looked at his friends and rubbed his hands. 'Come now, we have a lot to buy today….the party will be the day after tomorrow. There will be a full moon and the party tree will be swarming with fireflies…'

While the hobbit continued to rave about the party tree, Thorin looked as if he wanted to chop it down personally. Loaren walked along beside him and looked at him.

'I have missed that expression since we arrived in the Shire.' Loaren tried to lighten the mood, but Thorin only gave her a grim look.

'This is not how I imagined my wedding to be.' Thorin remarked and almost made Loaren stumble in surprise. He grabbed her arm before she could fall and held her tight until she had her legs under control again.

'You are not seriously thinking about us being married now?' Loaren looked at him with big eyes. 'This is not…..we are not married.'

'In the eyes of the Shire folk we are.' Thorin suppressed a grin.

'For goodness sake…' Loaren shook her head. 'If you want me to play the dutiful and obedient wife, you can forget about that, my king.'

They were about to walk around the corner as Thorin stopped and pulled her into his arms. The others had already walked around the corner and Thorin and Loaren were surrounded by high bushes and the hills, protected from any curious onlooker. Thorin always felt a wave of satisfaction when someone called him his king, but hearing it out of Loaren´s mouth was even more music to his ears. He took her hand into his and pressed a kiss onto her palm, making her gasp.

Loaren struggled between wanting to pull her hand back or bury it in Thorin´s beard, like she had done last night under the party tree. She decided that she wanted to do the later and moved her palm over Thorin´s cheek. She smiled as the king leaned into her touch and almost purred like a dwarven cat.

'We could use this week as a test…' Thorin mumbled against her hand.

'A test for what?' Loaren had moved closer until their foreheads were nearly touching.

But before Thorin could answer, Bilbo rushed back around the corner and grabbed Loaren's hand.

‚Oh no no no, you two will not get all cuddly in the middle of the Shire, there is already enough talk about my royal guests.' Bilbo grinned at Thorin's annoyed expression, but he pulled Loaren with him anyway. ‚No inappropriate touching, no kisses and no cuddling – before the wedding.'

Thorin could hear Dwalin and Ori snicker behind the corner and almost turned around to walk back to Bag End by himself, but he feared that he would lose his way yet again and that would be most embarassing. But he already had a plan.

0

‚Where is Thorin?' Ori looked around and spotted his king a few stands further down the market. He had Dwalin with him and a big basket in his hands. ‚Are these two...shopping?'

‚A day to remember.' Dori remarked dryly and continued to negotiate with the merchant about the prize of his best tomatoes.

Bilbo and Loaren had moved down the road to chose some flowers and they would need a while to get all the things needed for the party, so the dwarves walked back to Bag End on their own. Dwalin was carrying a basket which was so full that he needed both hands to carry it up the hill.

'What did you buy, by Mahal´s beard?' Dori looked into the huge basket. 'This will fill Bilbo´s pantry for the next moons.'

'Ah…actually it´s…' Dwalin nodded towards Thorin and rolled his eyes.

'What?' Dori mimicked Dwalin´s nod towards Thorin. 'What does the king have to do with this?'

'Apparently, the woman hurt his pride by rejecting the idea of a wedding so quickly and our dear king has set his mind on making her regret this.' Dwalin grinned brightly.

'He wants to poison her?' Dori looked at the mushrooms inside of the basket.

'No, you blockhead!' Dwalin would have hit Dori over the head when he had his arms free. 'He wants to court her. The hobbit way. Cooking, flowers….yadayadayada.'

'This is sooooo cute!' Ori clapped his hands and nearly skipped towards Bag End.

'He is our king, he is not cute!' Dori remarked strongly, but he also had to smile. 'Thorin and cooking, ey? We should have some buckets with fire water ready, in case he burns down the kitchen in the process. Does Bilbo know about that?'

'Yep, he will keep the insufferable woman out of Bag End all day.' Dwalin stated and swiftly walked through the door in Bag End.

'He knows about Thorin´s plans? He risks his kitchen, I hope he knows…or maybe he wanted to stay away so that he would not have to watch the drama…..' the door to Bag End closed behind a worried Dori and for the rest of the day, no dwarf was seen outside of Bag End anymore, just the chimney revealed how busy they were to the outside.

0

Loaren looked at the hundreds of flowers on the market and sighed deeply. Bilbo had told her that every flower and every plant had a deeper meaning and that hobbits communicated a lot with the trade and gifting of such plants. She only listened half-heartedly to Bilbo´s narration and tried to find an answer to her nagging doubts. When had she started to feel as if she belonged? When had she started to feel more for these dwarves and the hobbit than mere duty? When had she stopped being the mercenary and started being herself again? All those thoughts scared her deeply and especially Thorin´s behaviour irritated her. How could he behave like the most insufferable and arrogant dwarven being in Middle Earth a few weeks ago and now turn into such a gentle and loyal friend? His friendship to Bilbo had astonished Loaren the most; the king took part of Bilbo´s fate with all his heart, when Lobelia had stolen from the hobbit, Thorin had seen it as an affront, not only to Bilbo, but also against himself. The company were not only his subordinates, they were his kin and friends. At first, Loaren had thought Thorin seing himself above all of his kin, because he was the king. But now she knew that she had mistaken his pride and responsibility for arrogance and royal haughtiness. She had noticed how much her cared about his people back in Erebor, but she had never seen it as true compassion, but more of a kingly duty. She had been so wrong, but she was still struggling in seeing more than the king in Thorin. This was just not right, there was no future for them together, but for the king and his loyal subject, even the Shire could not make her forget that.

Bilbo noticed the sad frown on Loaren´s face and could almost feel her doubts. He had felt the same when he had started his journey to Erebor over one year ago. Thorin had pushed him away so far in the first few months, that it took some time for Bilbo to fully trust him again. The hug on the Carrock had been a big step, but Bilbo had often asked himself wether all mistrust had vanished from Thorin´s mind. The situation with the arkenstone had showed him how much Thorin had started trusting him and it had hurt him even more that he had been forced to betray this trust. Although Thorin was never good at forgiving and forgetting, his friendship to Bilbo was stronger than before, also because of the fact that Thorin had not really forgiven himself about his actions after Erebor had been reclaimed. He still felt shame and grief about the way he had treated his kin, his friends and the men of Dale and he worked hard on making things right. He was still the stubborn and moody dwarf Bilbo had gotten to know back then, but he was also a dear friend and a loyal companion. Bilbo would miss him when they…Bilbo shook his head and tried to focus on the flowers. He had not made up his mind yet – at least not quite.

'So….could we not just pick the most neutral flowers and get it over with?' Loaren looked as if someone had tortured her for days as she looked at the flowers. 'Those are pretty, what do they mean?'

Bilbo chuckled as she pointed at the hydrangea. 'They are gifted to people, who are overconfident. Not a fine choice for a wed….party with Thorin and the dwarves, I would say…'

Loaren sighed and walked over to the next plant.

'Gladiola – it says "do not be so proud". Huh….' Bilbo smirked. 'How ironic.'

'What do you mean?' Loaren frowned at him and made the merchant of that stand step back from the intimidating woman.

'Months ago I would have thought this one to be the perfect plant to give Thorin.' Bilbo shrugged his shoulders. 'Now, I think I might know two people whom I could gift with them?'

'And who might the second person be, master hobbit?' Loaren asked sourly, although she already guessed his next answer.

'Well….you of course!' Bilbo smiled and walked down to a new stand. 'I have never met a human woman, who was more stubborn, proud and dutifull than you.'

'I think I lost my pride when I was cast out of the royal household.' Loaren muttered, but Bilbo shook his head.

'You have an own pride, which has nothing to do with your upbringing.' Bilbo stated and walked to a stand of cornflowers. 'You take pride in being the leader of the most deadly mercenaries in Middle Earth and in the same time you are too stubborn to see yourself as more than a subordinate to Thorin. You force yourself to be not more than a mere mercenary to Thorin. You force yourself to reject his advances because your head tells you that your love would never have a chance. Maybe, you also want to punish him for being a jerk to you and your men when you arrived in Erebor….'

'That is not true!' Loaren snarled at him. 'I do not want to punish him for anything. This is just not right. He despised me, me and my men – and now all of a sudden he decided that he likes me? He is a totally different dwarf once he is away from his throne and his gold.'

'This scares you?' Bilbo asked and watched the frown get deeper on Loaren´s forehead.

'I am not scared….' Loaren grinded her teeth. 'It just not makes any sense.'

'Love never makes any sense.' Bilbo tried, but Loaren interrupted him.

'How can you even speak of love?' she muttered. 'We do not even know each other. We disliked each other from the start, both our introductions started with a lie!'

Bilbo nodded as he remembered that Thorin had not introduced himself as the king of Erebor when Loaren had first come to the mountain. She had not told him that she was a woman in return.

'And now…all of a sudden….everything is different? No, Bilbo, this is nothing but madness.' Loaren shook her head.

'Then why do you look at him everytime he turns his back on you?' Bilbo was not ready to let it go. 'Why do you smile when you see him smile? Why are you even here? You could have put your foot down and refuse to have a part in all of this. You could have left and gone to Bree to your men.'

'My duty lies with the king and his orders. That is what I am. When I ran away from my duties as a princess I thought that I had gained my freedom. But the truth is, I only exchanged my duty as a princess for a duty as a mercenary. I will not run from my duty ever again, regardless of what I may feel.' Loaren told him and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

'But you love him.' Bilbo slyly looked up at the woman.

'I do not know how love feels like.' Loaren stated grimly. 'And I do not know what I feel at the moment. That scares me.'

With these words, Loaren turned away from Bilbo and walked out of the plant market, leaving a smiling hobbit behind. Although Bilbo had never felt romantic love for anyone, he could tell that it was love when he saw it. Thorin and Loaren certainly felt love for each other, but neither one of them knew or wanted to admit it. In fact, Thorin seemed to be the wiser one of the two, making an effort to acknowledge his feelings, even if Dwalin gave him a hard time for it. Bilbo was sure that Loaren would give in to her heart´s desires, but he could only hope that she would do so quickly, before they left the Shire again and return to the cold and realistic world of Middle Earth with its dangers, perils and problems.


	14. Chapter 14

**Its a short one, sorry about that...enjoy!**

‚Is Bag End on fire?' Loaren frowned as thick black smoke rose into the pink sky.

‚Sweet lady of everything that's green!' Bilbo cursed and began to run towards Bag End.

‚I take it that this was not planned, huh?' Loaren only walked faster to keep up with Bilbo.

When they arrived in Bag End the smoke had lifted and it did smell delicious, against all odds. Bilbo slowed down and took the flowers from Loaren's hands with a sly smile. He closed the door behind them and told Loaren to go ahead, but the woman was stopped by Dwalin and Ori who shooed her back into the living room.

‚You stay right there, it's not ready, yet!' Dwalin waved with his big hands.

‚Ready for what?' Loaren was confused.

‚Ready for...never mind.' now Ori was waving his hands in the air. ‚You'll see.'

All three of them jumped as they heard loud cursing from the kitchen.

‚Is that Thorin?' Loaren peeked around the corner and tried to get a glimbse of the kitchen. ‚What on earth is he doing in the kitchen?'

‚Sit down, have some camomille.' Dori just came out of the kitchen and pushed Loaren into the cozy armchair by the fire. ‚Dinner will be ready soon.'

‚Dinner? Who made dinner, Bilbo was at the market with me?' Loaren frowned but none of the dwarves would answer, they all looked down at their boots. ‚Fine, just ignore me.'

Loaren was tired and still felt troubled. She was in no mood for any nonsense and decided that she would enjoy her tea in front of the warming fire. Almost dozing off, she did not notice Bilbo coming out of the kitchen, rubbing his hands in excitement. When he asked Loaren to follow him into the kitchen, she was already half asleep. Yawning, Loaren walked to the kitchen and did not see the wide grins on the company's faces. But what she saw in the kitchen made her wake up he blink of an eye and made her lose her grip oh her tea cup, which was miraculously caught by a yelping Bilbo.

The kitchen table was set for two people, candles were lit on the table and by the window and there were flowers in the middle of the huge kitchen table. Around it was the food, so much food. Loaren saw a vegetable soup, roasted chicken with honey, fresh bread and a nougat cake. All in all, it was simple food, but the way it was arranged and the knowledge of who had cooked all of this made Loaren smile.

‚Did you do this?' Loaren looked to the side where Thorin was standing. The dwarf had eyed her carefully since she had set foot into the kitchen and looked nervous. At her question he nodded and made her smiled even brighter. ‚Why?'

Bilbo grinned and politely retreated from the kitchen, shooeing the rest of the company out to the Green Dragon. Thorin had not burned any of the food, but Dwalin and Dori had burned what had supposed to be their own dinner in excitement over Thorin's dinner, hence the smoke, so they had to eat at the Inn.

Thorin walked over to Loaren and slowly guided her to her seat.

‚You told me that I should court you like a hobbit since we are apparently married in the Shire, so I did. Hobbits court with food and flowers and...I did my best...' Thorin had chosen white Angelicas, which were a symbol for true and pure intent. As for the food, he had chosen the food he could do best without burning down the whole kitchen.

'But who will have an eye on Thorin when we are away?' they heard Dwalin complain by the door. 'He will stick his foot in his mouth again, I´m tellin´ ya….'

'Oh, you are the one to talk….' that was Dori.

The door was slammed shut, supposedly by Bilbo and Loaren had to chuckle as she saw Thorin roll his eyes. She was still unsure about the whole situation, but she could see that Thorin had really made an effort to prove…..what?

'Why are you doing this? I know what I said, but you cannot seriously think that we have a chance of happiness together?' Loaren asked him sadly.

'And why is that?' Thorin sat down together with her. If they would have this conversation, they could as well have it during dinner.

Loaren closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She chuckled bitterly as she started speaking. 'You are a dwarf, I am human. You are a king, I am a mercenary. You rule over a kingdom, I over a few hundred soldiers. How will this ever work? Would your people accept me at your side? Where would my men go? What would happen if we had children? They would be born as a threat to Fili…..'

'You think too much, woman.' Thorin grumbled, but he had to admit that these questions were valid.

'And you think too few, my king.' Loaren gave him an apologizing smile. 'This will never work.'

'We will never know if we never try.' Thorin gave a try and took her hand.

'And how will this end?' Loaren shook her head, but her hand stayed in Thorin´s bigger one. 'With heartbreak for at least one of us.'

'You are afraid.' Thorin looked at her closely. 'You are afraid that the one with a broken heart might be you.'

Thorin frowned and pulled his hand away. 'I risk a lot with my love to you. I am not afraid, why are you?'

But Loaren only looked at him in surprise. 'You love me?'

0

'I told ya!' Dwalin cursed as he pulled his face from the window. 'He ruins it!'

'Master Dwalin, this is not respectable!' Bilbo had his hands pressed to his hips and tapped with his big foot. 'Come down from that window this instant!'

'Can you still hear anything?' Dori whispered and pushed Dwalin back up against the window.

Bilbo rolled his eyes and threw his hands up into the air in despair.

'He should just kiss her and get it over with!' Dwalin pressed his ear against the window.

'How very romantic.' Ori stated dryly.

'Worked with you….' Dwalin muttered and made Ori blush the color of Bilbo´s tomatoes.

'What?!' Dori yelled and that made Dwalin and Ori run towards the Green Dragon faster than anything Bilbo might have said. In the Inn, there would be too many witnesses for a murder.

0

'You love me?' Loaren´s surprised whisper made Thorin realise what he had just said. But he stood to his word and although he had no experience with romantic feelings, he knew that something had changed in his relationship to the captain of the immortals. Despite of that knowledge, Thorin looked down at his hands and muttered into his beard.

Loaren looked at him closely and made a decision. Thorin had already done so much and she knew that the proud dwarf would have a rough time accepting his feelings, if his feelings were even true. She did not know wether to believe him or not, but she would not ruin their peaceful days in the Shire. If he was sincere about his feelings for her, she would find out soon enough.

'The soup is good.' Loaren stated and smiled at Thorin. 'Did you really do all of this yourself?'

'Aye. Bilbo was with you.' Thorin answered and felt some pressure disappear. 'And Dwalin, Dori and Ori were no help. Dori burned the tomatoes for the first time in his life and he is old.'

At that, Loaren had to laugh. 'Tell me about them…..Dwalin, Dori and Ori. How did you get to know them?'

'Dwalin grew up with me, since Balin was my grandfather´s advisor. At first, when we grew up, we thought that he might be an excellent match for my sister, Dis, but then she fell in love with Fili´s and Kili´s father and Dwalin was always interested in males. He actually fell for me when we were adolescents…..

'Not your type, Huh?' Loaren interrupted him with a grin.

'Not really, no.' Thorin grinned at her playful tone. 'Too little hair.'

Loaren laughed sincerely for the first time since she could remember and Thorin joined her. All awkwardness was blown away and they started chatting about Thorin´s kin. Loaren found out how Nori was the first of the Ri brother´s to go into Thorin´s service as a spy and that Ori never had been happy because as a scribe, he thought himself useless. Only after they had reclaimed Erebor, Ori had found happiness in his profession. Dori was of course, as Loaren had already noticed, the mother hen of the group and had always taken care of all dwarves under his nose.

'How about Fili and Kili?' Loaren asked. 'Ori told me that their father died when they were little and that you helped to bring them up. I have to admit that at first, I could not imagine you with little ones, but now that I think of it, you must have been a terrific uncle.'

Thorin smiled at the memories. 'Fili and Kili were a handful. But to be honest, Dis did all the work, I only told them how to fight, how to be responsible and to honor their line.'

'That sounds like almost all they needed to know.' Loaren chuckled. 'I look forward to meet your sister…..what?'

Thorin bit on his lip and looked down on his hands. 'Well…..Dis is a very good dwarf, but….I was told that she can be very intimidating.'

'More than you?' Loaren aaked and looked at Thorin with big eyes, when he nodded quickly.

'If she had been born first, she would have had a run for the throne, although she is female.'

'Why are females not allowed to rule?' Loaren wanted to know.

'No female had any interest in ruling, yet.' Thorin stated, but he was not so sure about that himself. 'We always had kings, who took princesses or ladies as their wives and they never had the need to rule. Dis was the first who ruled a mountain, but only in my absence and in times of peril.'

'So, in times of peril, your females are able to keep everything in order and do the same kings do in normal circumstances?' Loaren leaned forward and took some bread.

'Yes.' Thorin grinned as he realized what Loaren was going at. 'We only have little females, they usually stay inside of the mountain and do rarely show themselves outside of it.'

'So, would this be my future if I married you?' Loaren asked carefully. 'Trapped inside of a dark mountain, behind my strong husband´s back and without a life of my own?'

'Strong, huh?' Thorin grinned brightly.

'Thorin.' Loaren frowned, but Thorin´s grin grew even wider.

'We do not imprison our females in our mountains, although sometimes we would really love to.' Thorin held up a hand when Loaren took a deep breath. 'But – most of our females chose that life. The ones who want to leave the mountain anytime they want…..and are mistaken for males.'

Loaren almost chocked on her wine. 'How on earth?'

'Our females have beards, very long ones actually. Their voices are deep, their bearing proud…..it is difficult to distinguish them from males for foreigners.' Thorin explained.

'And how do you know that a dwarf is a female?' Loaren asked curiosly.

'Well….' Loaren was surprised to see Thorin blush and move his hands in front of his chest, gesturing awkwardly. 'They usually have a massive rack…'

At that, Loaren almost spit out her wine, laughing.

'Or, like in Dwalin´s case, they do not know what gender the dwarf of interest is…' Thorin added with a wide grin.

'How do you mean that…..oh my goodness!' Loaren realized what Thorin was saying. 'Dwalin thought that Ori was a girl, too?'

0

Bilbo, Dwalin, Dori and Ori came back late at night and found the kitchen tidy, the plates washed and the spoons in the drawer. The fire in the living room was still burning and Thorin and Loaren were asleep on Bilbo´s couch, Thorin´s hands were still in Loaren´s hair and Loaren had leaned back on his lap.

'Hmm, looks as if it went well?' Ori whispered.

'Looks like it, or else she would have bitten his hands right off.' Dwalin agreed.

'I still do not see a braid…' Dori moved closer and checked Loaren´s hair. 'Nope, no braid.'

'Why a braid?' Bilbo asked and peeked down on Loaren´s hair as well.

'We braid the hair of our family, friends and kin, it is a very intimate thing in our culture.' Dori explained.

'Well, maybe it is too intimate?' Bilbo asked and made Dori snort.

'They are married, what could be more intimate?' Dori muttered and jumped as Thorin´s growl filled the room.

'I suggest you go to sleep and do not stick your mother hen nose into your king´s business.' Thorin grumbled with his eyes still closed.

'Yes, my king.' Dori straightened up and shooed the others out of the room as quickly as he could.

'But….I want to know what happened….' Thorin could hear Ori whisper and could hear either Dori or Dwalin slap him on the back of his head.

With a tired smile, Thorin leaned back against the couch and buried his hands even deeper in Loaren´s hair. One day, he would feel a braid in these chaotic curls and he would feel his heart leap with joy at the thought that he had put it there.


	15. Chapter 15

'It´s party time!' Ori skipped through Bag End and made Bilbo and Dori shake their heads in the kitchen.

'There is so much to do, stop skipping and help us will ya?' Dwalin smiled despite his gruff tone.

'I already promised Poppy that I would help her with the flower arrangements.' Ori told them and made ready to leave. 'Thorin really put some thought into the arrangements. Alstroemeria for wealth, prostperity, fortune and most important of all friendship. Carnation for pride, beauty, admiration and love. Gladiolus for character, faithfulness and honor. And Peonies for a happy marriage! This is so cute! And everything is pink!'

'You are pink, now get out…' Dori shook his head once again. 'Sometimes I wonder wether he really is a female in disguise….'

'Would it be a bad thing?' Bilbo looked at his friend and smiled, for he knew how much Dori loved his little brother.

'No, it would just explain so much more.' Dori grinned.

The small company was happy and relaxed for the first time in weeks. Thorin and Loaren had reached an agreement, that they would take things slow and take some pressure of their relationship. They lived each day to the fullest and seemed happy. Of course, nothing physical had happened yet, for Dori and Bilbo knew that they had to stay respectable as the king and captain of Erebor´s mercenary guards and made them sleep in different rooms. They were very strict.

'This will be the most beautiful not-wedding party of the Shire!' Ori exclaimed before he skipped out of the door and down the road to the party tree.

'Not-wedding party.' Dori sighed. 'This is such a mess. I had hoped that our king would just get a grip and marry that one.'

Bilbo smiled as he thought about Thorin and Loaren as king and queen of Erebor.

'Maybe things will work out one day and we will have a real wedding party in Erebor?' Bilbo suggested.

'Right. Not as long as Dis is alive.' Dori muttered. 'We all love her, she is great…..but she will never agree to this.'

'Dori!' Dwalin nudged him in the side, but Dori shrugged his shoulders.

'Why should she have a say in this?' Bilbo frowned. He could not imagine Fili and Kilis mother being such a "dragon".

'She is very protective since Thrain and Thorin´s mother died. She was the true head of the family since then, Thorin sat on the throne, but she was leading what was left of their family.' Dori explained to Bilbo and then sighed again. 'Every female who is interested in Thorin will have to go through Dis. And up until today, none of them managed.'

'It seems to me that Thorin has his own mind.' Bilbo tried, but Dori shook his head at that.

'He has, but Dis will not try to persuade him. She will go for Loaren and scare her off.' Dwalin cut in.

'Seems like Dis is a real dragon….worse than the greatest calamity Smaug.' Bilbo was shocked.

'Dis is the most loyal and best family member and friend one could wish for.' Dori started. 'Who wins her over will win us all. We had so much bad experience with people outside of our own race, that we tend to not trust easily. Dis made even worse experience than most of us when she travelled the town of men. Nobody dared ask what has happened and she never speaks of it. But she hates men. As much as she hates men, she loves her family and especially Thorin. Him, Fili and Kili were all she had left and she will not let anyone take them away from her. It may seem harsh, but this is what the past made of some of us. We love, hate and feel with all our heart and soul and we tend to go over board sometimes…..people who live with us will have to learn to live with it. Until today, the only one who really managed was you.'

Bilbo almost let go of the frying pan when he heard this. On one hand, he was really getting a bad opinion of Dis, on the other hand he could understand how she had turned into the dwarf she was today.

'Well…thank you…uhmmm….' Bilbo was at a loss for words. 'This is really…..excuse me.'

Bilbo smiled and quickly left the kitchen, leaving a stunned Dori behind. Dwalin had not noticed the hobbit´s strange reaction and took his place at the stove, concentrating to not burn the food this time.

Bilbo ran into his study and bumped into Loaren.

'Not one moment of peace…' Bilbo sighed heavily before he could help it an made Loaren look at him in worry.

'Are you alright, Bilbo?' Loaren could see the distress in his eyes. 'You seem troubled.'

'I just need to be alone for a while.' Bilbo sighed and hoped that she would forgive his rude behaviour.

'This is your home, Bilbo, and we are invading your privacy. I am sorry.' Loaren frowned sadly. 'We will be gone in two days…you could stay here and enjoy the peace and quiet while we ride for the Blue Mountains? We can pick you up on our way back? If you still wish to come back with us….'

Bilbo´s heart nearly skipped a beat and he looked up at Loaren´s understanding face.

'You knew….?' Bilbo whispered.

'I had a feeling.' Loaren closed the door. 'You belong to Bag End, all your heart is in Bag End. You are a loyal friend, Bilbo, but you were thinking about not returning to Erebor with us. I saw it in your eyes, the fear of leaving all of this again. Of leaving the Shire once again and maybe never to come back.'

'Was it so obvious?' Bilbo sat down in his chair and buried his face in his hands.

'No.' Loaren smiled sadly. 'But I saw it anyway.'

Quietly, she turned around to leave the hobbit to his thoughts.

'They will understand.' Loaren turned around a last time before she shut the door behind her.

'I pray to Yavanna that they will.' Bilbo murmured and leaned back into his chair.

0

Thorin sat with the Thain as his company prepared the party. They still had to establish diplomatic relations and would sign a pact of friendship between the Shire and Erebor. The Thain knew about his grandsons plans to stay in the Shire, but he knew that Bilbo wanted to tell Thorin himself. But the old and wise hobbit had a plan that would maybe also support the dwarf kings love life.

'Of course, we will be establish a trade route and maybe, we might send some hobbits to help you cultivate the land around the mountain.' the Thain mused. 'There are not many hobbits who like to leave the Shire, but maybe some will volunteer after my dear Bilbo gave such a good example.'

The fact that Bilbo was called Mad Baggins behind his back was politely ignored by the Thain and Thorin.

'To keep the exchange between the Shire and Erebor up to date, we will need fast and swift messengers, who will be able to carry more than letters. With all due respect for your ravens, but I think we need a messenger who will not scare Mordor out of my fellow hobbits.' the Thain smiled at Thorin who nodded in understanding.

'I was thinking about your immortals, they are swift riders as far as I know and they serve you well. The immortal lady seems trustworthy, I would accept her help and the help of her men as a connection between our lands.' Thorin looked up in surprise, but missed the twinkle in the Thain´s eyes.

'It is planned that the immortals will leave Erebor after all the dwarves have returned home.' Thorin informed the Thain. 'They secure our unification and protect the mountain until we will be able to do so ourselves.'

'The better, then they will be free to serve us as scouts.' the old hobbit nodded. 'We hobbits are careful and introverted, but now that we know dwarves as well as the immortal lady, I am sure that everyone from either representative group will be welcome anytime.'

Thorin needed a while to process the news. The Thain made it clear that he wanted to establish diplomatic relations with the help of the immortals as a bond between them. That meant, that the immortals would have to stay in his service way longer than he had planned. Thorin had to admit, that the thought was easing some of his worries, but he also feared that it might cause problems with the Eastern realm and Loaren´s father, if he deprived him of his best mercenaries.

'The immortals will follow who pays them.' apparently, the Thain had guessed Thorin´s worries. 'And as Bilbo told me, you have enough gold in your mountain to pay them for the next millennia. No worries….' the Thain saw the alarm in Thorin´s expression. '….we do not care about riches and we are not interested in your gold. All I ask is that you could maybe ensure the position of the immortals as our messengers and maybe also as support troops. We have a treaty, which means that Erebor shall also send military aid in case that the Shire is attacked – which could happen anytime. Dwarves on foot would take ages to get here, but the immortals would be here much faster. As you can see, Erebor as well as the Shire are in need of those eastern mercenaries.'

The hobbit´s words made sense and Thorin tended to agree, but he would consult Loaren first before he decided things over her head.

'I think that we will agree on everything.' Thorin stood up and looked out of the window. The sun was setting and the party would start soon. 'If you agree, we can sign the contract before we leave in two days.'

'Aye.' the Thain also made ready to leave. 'I will see you and your lovely wife at the party.'

Before Thorin could object, the Thain had politely shown him out of the door and closed it with a wide grin.

0

'I will not wear this…..this….' Loaren yelled out of her room.

'It´s a dress, it´s what female usually wear.' Dori was standing outside of the door with his hands on his hips.

'Then let Ori wear one!' Loaren yelled and then gave them a snarl. 'And give me back my normal clothes!'

'You will not go to the party in your pants, boots and armour, young lady!' Dori took her clothes and shoved them into an empty box by the corridor.

'Do not young lady me….' Loaren snarled and made Dwalin grin.

'Well, you refuse to be our queen, so I will call you whatever I want, young lady!' Dori grinned as he heard something slam against the door from the inside.

'I just painted that door yesterday, young lady!' Bilbo yelped, but he could not help but grin from one ear to the other as well. They had bought a dress from a travelling merchant and they knew that they would have to force Loaren into it. But Dori was right, there was no way Loaren would appear on her not-wedding party in pants and her armour, it just was not respectable.

'Young lady me again and you will have to paint something else!' Loaren´s muttered reply came from the inside. 'You cannot be serious….'

'What is going on here?' Thorin had enteres Bag End and found his company outside of Loaren´s room, sniggering and yelling.

'Thorin, get some sense into your wife…..' Dwalin was the first who saw the king join them. 'Tell her what all husbands have to tell their wives, that they looks beautiful and yaddayaddayadda….'

'I would not mind you telling me this once in a while….' Ori whispered, but Dori could hear him anyway and shot him a death glare before he looked sick.

'Go in there and help her, we have to be at the party when the sun has set.' Bilbo told Thorin with a smirk, which grew wider when the dwarf looked at the door in an unsure expression.

'I cannot just enter the room…..' he began, but this time Loaren interrupted him.

'Here´s nothing you have not seen yet, dear husband mine!' she yelled. 'And please be a dear and bring me my pants?'

'Where are your pants?' Thorin asked, but of course, nobody told him. 'Cover yourself, I am coming in.'

'This is so romantic.' Dori muttered into his beard and then left to dress for the party himself. He had no idea how Thorin would convince Loaren to wear the dress and to be perfectly honest, he did not even want to know.

0

Thorin peeked through the door as soon as it opened and saw Loaren stand in the middle of the room, clad in a beautiful dark blue dress. It had floor length and it flowed over her body in soft waves. Her hair was still wild and untamed, but he liked it that way. The only thing that missed to the outfit was some dwarven jewelry, Thorin thought.

'Why are you staring?' Loaren´s tone had changed into a nearly soft one.

'You look beautiful.' Thorin said and earned a snort from Loaren.

'I look ridiculous.' she almost sounded sad when she said it and Thorin wondered wether she had never experienced any romance from the men she had been with. Carefully, he walked up towards her like a rider to a wild horse.

'You look wonderful….like a sapphire…..this color is Durin Blue.' Thorin managed to move his hand over Loaren´s arms without touching.

'I guess this is why mother hen Dori chose it.' Loaren smiled grimly. 'And the insufferable hobbit gave me this!'

Loaren took a flower crown from the table behind her and showed it to Thorin. It was a crown made of the flowers Thorin had chosen for the party.

'May I?' Thorin gently took the crown and then place it into Loaren´s curls. 'Now you look perfect.'

Loaren blushed and Thorin took a step back and realized that she did look perfect. Loaren did not need any jewelry, her eyes shone brightly and her hair fell over her back in soft locks.

'Do not look at me like that.' Loaren softly asked and lowered her gaze, but Thorin would have none of that.

He took her chin into his fingers and gently forced her to look up again. Their lips met in a soft and innocent kiss, but Thorin had to refrain from doing more. He had never thought that he might find a woman of men attractive, even more breathtaking, but he could not take his eyes of Loaren. It was not just her beauty which ensnared him, it was her whole being. The Thain´s offer came into his mind again and the knowledge that he might be able to bind her to him in more than a contract, but in love and duty at the same time. He would never confine her to the mountain, he would make sure that she could live free and independent from him. Maybe it was a good thing that they would not marry officially. Loaren would be free to live her life, but they would still love each other. Nothing would have to change. With a happy sigh, Thorin broke the kiss and saw Loaren bite her lower lip.

'I will go and change.' Thorin told her and slowly retreated from her arms.

'Alright.' Loaren wondered how Thorin could make her change so much. Had he really just made her accept this dress only by saying that she looked beautiful and kissing her? While she felt stupid about that, she also felt loved at the same time and the later emotion was overwhelming.

'I will wait outside of Bag End.' Thorin told her and retreated with a smile.

Loaren nodded silently and sat back on the chair Bilbo had sat on earlier that day. It seemed as if Thorin knew her thoroughly, although they only knew each other for such a short time. He knew that she needed a moment on her own and that she had to realise how much her life had changed in these past few days. Sometimes, Loaren wished that she could have her old life back, a life without worries, without doubt and without…..love. No, Loaren shook her head, she would never want to trade the feelings she had for Thorin against anything in the world. Still, she feared that she would end up hurt, but at the same time, she thought that it was worth it. She would not run away again, never again. She would accept life as it came and would not try to hide from the responsibilities anymore.

With a sigh, she stood up straight and walked to the door. Dwalin, Dori, Ori and Bilbo were already out, all clad in fine party clothes. Loaren was grateful that none of them said a word and only smiled at her. Only Bilbo looked troubled, but she knew that he was still struggling how to tell Thorin that they would have to return to Erebor without him. The hobbit had decided to tell his friend before they would leave for the Blue Mountains, but Loaren knew how much Bilbo dreaded to hurt Thorin.

'Well…' Bilbo rubbed his hands as Thorin appeared on the doorstep and closed the door behind him. 'Let´s go to the party!'

They walked down the soft green hills of the Shire, towards the big party tree and both Thorin and Loaren had to fight a hysteric laugh when they realized that the tree was just in eye sight of Bag End.


	16. Chapter 16

Half of the shire was already gathered around the big party tree when the company arrived. Bilbo immediately joined the crowd, while Ori stayed behind Dori´s and Dwalin´s backs for the first moments. Thorin and Loaren flinched as some hobbits ran towards them and put flowers around their necks, laughing and cheering. Fauntlings came running and gave them little sweets and Loaren smirked as she saw that the little ones were actually more afraid of her than of grumpy Thorin. She realized that he must have made a good impression on the hobbits by organizing this party.

'May I have your attention, please!' the Thain raised his pint of ale and looked into the crowd. 'A toast to our lovely…..guests….'

He blinked at Thorin and Loaren, who were grateful that he had not said "married couple" as it was planned.

'Today, we feast! The great Mahal and the Green Lady have blessed us with bonds of friendship and trade! May this bonds be as strong as the love and respect between…..two people.' with a big grin, the Thain looked at Thorin and Loaren again, who both seemed as if they wanted to be elsewhere at the moment. 'Enough with big speeches, Cheers!'

'Cheers!' the hobbits and especially the dwarves held up their pints and drank most of their drinks in one gulp. Many belches erupted from the males, but Ori was the loudest.

'Oh, please!' Loaren rolled her eyes in amusement as she noticed that Thorin had actually managed to belch silently.

'What now?' Dwalin looked around and took a glance at the buffet. 'When do we eat?'

'You ate a few moments ago, I saw you sneak up to the cooky char over the fireplace.' Ori grinned at Dwalin´s caught expression.

'I am still hungry.' the big dwarf muttered and made Bilbo laugh.

'It is tradition that the married couple opens the buffet, soooo…' Bilbo grinned at Thorin and Loaren.

'Oh, for the love of….' Loaren took Thorin´s hand and they walked to the buffet. 'This is so much, I do not even know where to start.'

'Well, this is way better than my dinner for you.' Thorin mused as he looked over the various pastries, the salads, the sausages, the bread, the chicken and all of the different things the hobbits had made for the party.

'No, it is not.' Loaren´s soft voice made Thorin snap his head up to look at her smiling face. 'I would prefer any dinner of yours to this.'

Thorin wanted nothing more than to take her face into his hands and kiss her right in front of the buffet, but someone clearing his throat made him jump back in mid motion.

'Would you mind, I am starving!' Dwalin was standing behind them with a plate in his hands and a grin on his face. Of course he knew that he had interrupted a beautiful moment, but since Thorin and Loaren desperately tried to fight their true feelings for each other, Dwalin had decided to torture them a little bit more. 'Come now, get cracking…'

With a growl, Thorin snapped Dwalin´s plate from his hands, ignoring the sniggered protest and loaded it with food. In the end, he had managed to place a little bit of everything on the plate and Loaren looked at him in astonishment.

'You know, we can actually go to the buffet whenever we want.' she remarked with humor.

'When Dwalin and the hobbits are done, there will be no more food left.' Thorin sighed and smiled at her as they walked back to their table. 'Where is your plate?'

'I thought I would eat from yours?' Loaren grinned and looked down at Thorin´s food. 'Or are you such a cheapskate as Dwalin when it comes to food?'

Thorin laughed at that. Dwalin really never shared his food, he had even almost bitten Ori´s hand of as he had tried to steal chips from Dwalin´s plate.

'As long as I do not have to eat the green stuff, I am fine with it.' Thorin told her and they sat down together at a table near the buffett.

'You know….' the Thain had sneaked up behind them and made them jump. '…..it is quite amusing to see that although you claim to not being married, you do behave like it….'

Before Thorin and Loaren could ask what he meant by it, he had disappeared into the crowd by the buffett. The next one to sit down at their table was Bilbo, he had a full plate himself and he looked down at their shared plate with a smile.

'What is the big deal about sharing food?' Loaren asked him and made the hobbit chuckle.

'Well, we hobbits are very fond of our food, as you should know. It is the only thing we do not share – unless….we are married.' Bilbo grinned at Thorin´s and Loaren´s frowns. 'Look at that, you already have the same frown!'

Bilbo chuckled into his pint and looked up as Dwalin came back to the table with two plates full of meat.

'Seriously, I will have to explain the concept of a buffet to you.' Bilbo sighed.

'Nah, this one is my spare plate, in case that Ori wants to steal my food again.' Dwalin pointed to the smaller plate. 'It´s a diversion plate.'

'Ah….' Thorin grinned and waited until Dori and Ori had joined them. 'Dwalin…about the food sharing…..'

Loaren smiled as she leaned back on her chair and started to enjoy the evening. She watched the company, the hobbits and the party tree which was illuminated in the light of hundreds of lanters. It was a beautiful and peaceful moment and Loaren wished that she could stay in this moment forever.

0

'Now, it´s dancing time!' Bilbo clapped his hands and stood up from their table.

'I beg your pardon?' Dori looked at him with big eyes. 'We have just eaten half the Shire and you want us to dance? We´ll get stomach perforation!'

'I told you that you should not eat so much and that the food will still be there way past midnight.' Bilbo grinned. 'There will be cake, muffins and cupcakes then as well!'

The hobbit laughed as the company gave him some tortured moans and looked at Dwalin, who was still chewing on the rest of his chicken. If he did not know better, he would think that Dwalin was a hobbit in disguise, as much as he was able to eat and not throw up.

'Come now – not dancing would be rude!' Bilbo took Ori´s arm and pulled him towards the middle of the green meadow, where most of the hobbits were already dancing.

'I´m gonna throw up.' Ori complained, but at the same time he did not want to insult the hobbit traditions.

'You should not have eaten so many chips!' Bilbo told him as they started to move to the music – well, at least he did, Ori just moved funny.

'Oh my, little Ori has the worst sense of rhythm I have ever seen!' Loaren whispered to Thorin with a big smile. 'I have never seen anyone who could move to music that much out of rhythm! It looks so adorable!'

Ori really did attract various hobbit ladies, who all tried to show him the dance moves before he would stumble and break something. Dwalin watched the scene with amusement until some male hobbits joined them as well. With a deep growl, Dwalin stood up, wiped some crumbs of his tunic and slowly walked to Ori and Bilbo with long and confident steps, making Dori roll his eyes and Loaren chuckle. The hobbits made way for the huge dwarf and one male hobbit who was standing closest to Ori nearly had a coronary as the world grew dark around him because Dwalin´s huge frame was blocking all the light. Without a word, Dwalin took Ori´s hands and began swirling over the dancefloor, Ori´s feet almost not touching the ground.

Two female hobbits came over to the dwarve´s table and asked Dori to dance, who slowly agreed, holding his belly. Loaren and Thorin decided to wait a bit with the dancing and watched the company enjoy themselves. Loaren noticed that a few female hobbits made eyes at Thorin and tried to catch his attention, but she also noticed that he had no idea that they were interested. Thorin was watching the dancing dwarves and hobbits with a peaceful smile that made him look so much younger. His frown was gone and his bearing was relaxed.

'Quit staring at me, woman.' Loaren jumped as Thorin´s deep voice ripped her out of her daydreaming.

'I like staring at you.' Loaren stated amused. 'As do some other ladies, right over there.'

Loaren almost laughed out loud as Thorin turned his gaze towards the hobbit ladies and blushed slightly.

'Oh, come now, you should be used to it.' Loaren grinned as Thorin´s blush deepened. 'A handsome fellow like you.'

Thorin smiled at her playful tone and then took her hand. 'They can look at me as much as they want, but the only one whose gaze I would ever wish upon me in such an adoring way is yours.'

'Quit the sweet talk, come dancing!' Dwalin disrupted the moment for the second time that evening. 'Listen, Ren, if you do not want to dance with your hus…with Thorin, then I am sure that some other ladies would happily do!'

The hobbit ladies really started to look hopeful, but Loaren would have none of that. Thorin and her were not married and they did not even know how to describe their relationship, but she would not sit there and watch some other female dance with her dwarf. Her dwarf?! Where did that come from?

Loaren bit her lip and let the merry atmosphere of the party jump over to her., so she took Thorin´s hand and walked over to the dancefloor. It was a very happy dance and neither of them knew the moves, but somehow they found their rhythm. Even Bilbo was dancing and Dori was even dancing with Lobelia, who seemed less sour and moody than usual, only her husband looked sour from his place at the table.

'My goodness, Dwalin is eating again!' Loaren told Thorin and pointed to their table, where Dwalin had sat down with a plate full of cake and cookies. 'How does he do it?'

'Dwalin will be fatter than Bombur before he knows it.' Thorin grinned. 'Lord Fundin gained very much weight in his older years, Balin only prevents himself from growing widthways by holding a strict diet and having training.'

'Balin? You mean your old advisor? The nice one?' Loaren looked at him with big eyes. 'He does not look like a warrior.'

'He is one of my best warriors.' Thorin smiled fondly. 'But also one of my oldest. He is old enough to know that now everything will be accomplished by fighting.'

'How wise…..we will get there some day.' Loaren spun around and hid a smile.

They danced for a while longer, in the middle of Hobbiton, around the big party tree and until the moon was shining brightly between the stars. For a moment, both were able to forget who they were – the king and the mercenary – they were only Thorin and Loaren and the peaceful expression on both their faces made Bilbo smile. He knew about what Thorin and the Thain had spoken and he would support anything that would keep Thorin and Loaren together, married or not. He doubted that Loaren would be able to return East one day, anyway., since she seemed to not miss her old home at all and had found what she had always wanted – a place to belong. But the hobbit wondered how far she would go in her sense of duty. Would she betray her heart in favor of her men one day? Many of her immortals had families in the East, families they would want to return to one day. But Loaren´s true family was in Erebor now, Bilbo was sure of it. With an already half drunken smile, Bilbo leaned back on his chair with his pint of ale and watched as Thorin took Loaren´s hand and walked back to their table, to join Dwalin and Ori with dessert.

The party was a great success, everyone had fun, the food was delicious, the amount of ale did suffice and nobody seemed to remember that this was supposed to be a wedding party. Of course, the hobbits had seen the flower arrangement, but they had all been polite enough to not point out the obvious to Thorin or Loaren. To Dori´s horror, some of the hobbits had thought that this wedding party was for dwailn and Ori, though, since they acted openly in love for the first time. Although a love interest between males was frowned upon in the Shire, the couple was happily accepted, but mostly because most of the hobbits thought Ori to be a female dwarf.

Bilbo was almost disappointed that he would never get to know lady Dis, for he would definetly stay in the Shire, he knew that now. Hobbiton and Bag End were where he belonged.

0

The sun was almost rising again, when the last guests left the party. Some hobbit had fallen asleep on or between the tables, some on their chairs, but none of them were sleeping below the party tree. Loaren was so tired that she could not keep her eyes open and Thorin decided to walk her home to Bag End before he would take care of the rest together with Bilbo and Dwalin. Dori and Ori had already gone back to Bag End to sleep.

'Are you sure that you will find the way?' Dwalin teased and jumped back as Thorin tried to slap him.

'We will be fine.' Loaren grinned and started to walk up the small street which led to Bag End.

'And no canoodling on your way home, it´s not respectful!' Dwalin yelled after them with a huge grin, which made Thorin roll his eyes.

'Are you sure that Dwalin is not really a hobbit?' Loaren asked and suppressed a yawn.

'No, I am not.' Thorin stated dryly and made them chuckle.

They found their way to Bilbo´s home, but they took a while to relish in the sight of the Shire in the rising morning sun. Loaren sleepily leaned against the green door of Bag End and soon, Thorin leaned in for a sweet kiss. While her hands were shyly roaming over his chest, his hands moved from her waist up into her hair. The kiss deepened and Loaren could hear Thorin growl into her mouth and grab her tighter, but then suddenly the door opened and they fell into Bag End. As they looked up, Dori was standing in the door with a teasing grin on his face.

'Bilbo would kill you two dead if you did stuff against his door where anyone could see!' he exclaimed and enjoyed the blushes on both of their faces. 'Come on in!'

Thorin and Loaren scratched themselves from the floor, but the moment was gone.

'Good night! Sleep well!' Dori called out at them before he shut the door to his and Ori´s guestroom, where Thorin was also supposed to sleep.

'Huh, it seems that you will have to sleep in my room.' Loaren stated, but she was too tired to think of anything else than sleep. 'Keep your hands to yourself, king of Durin, I will fall asleep on you anyway.'

'I would make sure that you would not be able to fall asleep.' Thorin was in a playful mood and pressed up against Loaren´s back as they walked down to the room.

'Hmm…..' Loaren murmured sleepily and pushed up the door. 'I would rather experience my first time awake, thank you very much….'

'Your first…..Mahal!' Thorin stood at the doorway, frozen in shock about the news. 'What do you mean with your first time?'

Loaren was already crawling under the sheets in her dress, it would wrinkle, but she had not planned to wear it for another day anyway.

'Will you join me or not?' she asked sleepily and stretched out her hand for Thorin, who was looking at her with big eyes. 'I will explain everything tomorrow, I promise.'

Slowly, Thorin approached the bed and laid down beside Loaren, unsure what to do. She had not behaved like an unexperienced woman so far, her kissed had been shy and also her demeanour, but he had thought that was just how she behaved as a lover. Now he realized that she was so shy because she was indeed unexperienced. Loaren cuddled up and watched him with a sleepy smile.

'I am sorry, I thought that it was obvious?' she apologized and laid back against his shoulder.

'I just did not realise that you…were still…I mean….' Thorin tried to find a way to tell that he was surprised by not calling her old by mistake. She was a grown woman and was no teen anymore, she was so beautiful and she knew what she wanted, he had never thought that she was still untouched.

'I may be older than most at their first time…and I may not be a princess anymore…..' Loaren smiled and closed her eyes. 'But I still care for my honor.'

'But….' Thorin closed his arms around her and pulled her close. 'Why me then?'

'Because you are worth my honor.' Loaren mumbled before she fell asleep.

Loaren fell into deep slumber and remained close to Thorin during her sleep, but Thorin was wide awake now and could do nothing but stare at the woman in his arms.


	17. Chapter 17

**This chapter a few days early! Thorin puts his foot in his mouth and acts like the stubborn dwarf he is...he pulls a typical Thorin^^ don't worry, there will be a happy end for everyone in the end...:)**

Thorin and Loaren woke up at the delicious smell of stew. When Thorin´s stomach growled, Loaren chuckled and pulled herself from his warm arms to change into her pants and tunic.

'You are merciless, woman.' Thorin grumbled and pulled the sheets over his eyes.

'What? Why?' Loaren asked and smiled at the dwarf under the blanket.

'You are naked.' Thorin´s muffled voice came from under the blanket and made Loaren laugh. 'You are naked and I cannot think about anything else apart from the delicious stew waiting for us in the kitchen!'

Loaren started to laugh wholeheartly, which made the dwarves in the next room suspicious.

'They are alone in there and she is laughing?' Ori asked with big eyes.

'Maybe she saw him naked.' Dwalin grinned.

'That is no reason to laugh.' Ori mumbled and blushed.

'Been there, done that.' Dwalin stated and chuckled at Ori´s disbelief.

'Lunch is ready!' Dori almost yelled into the small guestrooms and hoped that he would not disturb anything weird in both of them. 'This is like in dwarflinggarden!'

The company had lunch in peace and quiet. While the dwarves were in a good mood, Loaren could see that Bilbo would use this chance to tell them that he would not accompany them back to Erebor. It was his last chance, for the company would ride for Ered Luin the next day and he would not be packing with them. With a supporting nod, Loaren gestured him to start.

'Thorin…' Bilbo turned towards the king, but he looked at all the dwarves. 'There is something I have to tell you all.'

Bilbo waited for the full attention and then sighed deeply.

'I will stay here. In Bag End. I will not come back to Erebor with you. I cannot, I am so sorry.'

For a while, no sound was to be heard, not even the sound of breathing. As if on cue, Dwalin and Thorin began to talk at the same time.

'But, we thought that you…you belong to us…..how could you?'

Bilbo leaned back into his chair and grimaced at the expected yelling. It was Loaren, who spoke for him.

'Bag End is Bilbo´s home! This is where he belongs, with his books and armchair, the cozy fire and the huge kitchen…..and his garden!' Loaren glared at Dwalin and Thorin. 'How dare you question his wish? You should know what it means to long for a home!'

Her last sentence stung, she knew that. But she also knew that the only way through the thick skull of a dwarf was brutal honesty.

'This is hard enough on him, he needs your support, not your reproach!' Loaren saw Dori and Ori nod at that.

'You knew about this?' Thorin looked at Loaren. 'You knew and you did not tell us?'

'It was not my place to tell.' Loaren answered, but she could see the betrayal in Thorin´s eyes.

'I had not planned to stay.' Bilbo admitted and Thorin´s attention turned back towards the hobbit. 'But being back here, in the Shire, showed me how much I missed it. The rolling green hills of the Shire, the sun, gardening…this is my life, my home…..but I will miss you all so much. What grieves me most is that I could not even say goodbye to all of you.'

Loaren felt tears dwell up in her eyes and fought them back. She knew that somewhere in the future, she would have to make a similar decision and that it would hurt.

A long silence spread and nobody said a word. Then, Thorin abruptly stood up and walked out of Bag End. Bilbo followed him, but as Loaren wanted to follow them, Dori held her back.

'Let the two work it out, lassie.' Dori looked at her sadly. 'We should start packing.'

Loaren nodded and with a last glance towards the door, she followed the dwarves and started packing their little things for the next journey ahead. They packed their spare clothes, sharpened their weapons and then packed some supplies, although the journey to Ered Luin should only take two days at maximum. No sound came from the garden, where Thorin and Bilbo were sitting, but at least, Thorin was not yelling. The sun had set when the two came back to join the rest of the company. Dori had already prepared dinner and Dwalin and Ori were looking after the ponies. Loaren tried to catch Thorin´s gaze, but he did not look at her once. His behaviour hurt Loaren more than she wanted to admit and she did not say another word during the evening. She did not notice that the dwarves and also Bilbo watched them with worry, Bilbo with an expression of guilt on his face.

When dinner had passed, the company sat down in the living room around the fire and Dori and Dwalin quietly sang an old dwarven song. Thorin was not in the mood for singing and Ori had buried his nose into his journal, to complete the chapter about the Shire before they left. Loaren bit her lip and decided to go to bed early. Thorin had still neither looked at her nor talked to her, but she would not make the first step. She was a proud woman and she knew that she had not done anything wrong. If her loyalty towards the hobbit meant such a betrayal to the king, then he should rethink his feelings for her. Suddenly, Loaren was glad that they had not gotten intimate last night. She had already invested so many feelings into this relationship and she could already feel the pain caused by it. Maybe it had been a mistake.

0

Loaren slept in her bed alone that night. In the morning, her mood was even worse than the day before and she already dreaded the way south. Quietly, she sneaked out of Bag End and took her belongings with her. She would miss breakfast, but she was not hungry. Her horse was already waiting for her and snorted in excitement, for it felt that a new journey was ahead. Loaren sadly caressed her horse´s mane and began to saddle the ponies and by the time the rest of the company joined her, everything was ready for the journey.

Loaren felt bitterness sweep over her as Thorin walked past her without acknowledging her and only brought up the strength to shortly thank Bilbo for his friendship and his hospitality and nod at him. When she sat up onto her horse, her gaze fell upon the big party tree and tears shot into her eyes. It had been a nice dream, but the way she saw it, that dream had ended. Loaren did not wait for the company to say their goodbyes. She told Ori that she would scout ahead and wait for them at the crossing south, then she rode away as if Lobelia herself was behind her. She arrived at the crossing sooner than expected and made sure that no throatcutters could ambush them on the road. With a sigh, she jumped down her horse´s back and sat down under a big tree. She felt numb and cold and she feared that in her current state, she would not be a well enough scout anyway. It took a while until the company joined her. Loaren could hear Dori and Thorin snarl at each other in Khuzdul even before she could see them. Apparently, they were engaged in a heated discussion and Dori´s face was deep red in anger. When the saw the crossing and Loaren, Thorin pressed his lips together and the discussion was over. Loaren felt her heart freeze a little bit more and mounted her horse without looking at either of the dwarves. Silently, the company rode south towards Ered Luin. The two days passed torturingly slowly and the silence was even harder to bear. Ori had talked to Loaren when they made camp, but Loaren was not in the mood for company. For the first time in weeks, she wished that she was back in the anonymity of her immortals.

0

Ered Luin was a small and grey mass of rocks and it´s sight made Loaren feel uncomfortable. The company rode towards a stone wall, but before Loaren could start looking for a gate, the wall opened and a dozen armed dwarves came forth to greet them. Thorin awoke from his moody self and a smile showed on his face as he greeted a blonde dwarf, who had emerged with a heavy axe in his hands. It took a while for Loaren to realise that this dwarf was Thorin´s sister. Her hair was waist long and her beard was simply breathtaking, it was full and braided into a complicated pattern, but it did not make her look masculine on second glance. Her body was strong, but she did have female curves and her eyes shone as blue as Thorin´s. She had the same proud bearing and the straight nose over which she eyed Loaren arrogantly and with a look of disdain on her face.

'So…this is the golden immortal.' she sneered and walked closer. ‚A woman.'

Loaren clenched her teeth and dismounted to walk towards the king´s sister. The dwarven guards immediately grabbed their spears tighter, but Loaren simply kneeled in front of the lady of Ered Luin. She was in no mood for a fight or even discussion and she hoped that Thorin and Dwalin would explain how important the immortals would be to lady Dis.

'Can she speak?' Dis´ arrogant tone made Loaren clench her fists, but she would not let her anger about Thorin and his sister impair her duty. That was all it was, a duty.

Loaren stood up again and nodded at the female dwarf, but she still did not say a word.

'I told you that I want none of these filthy men near this mountain!' Dis sneered at Thorin. 'We have no need of mercenaries!'

Loaren had accompanied the dwarves to speak in favor of her men, but at the words of the dwarf lady, she doubted wether it had been a good idea. Her presence seemed to anger Dis and nothing she would say would help. The cold feeling inside of her spread and Loaren suddenly wanted nothing more than return East, but in the next moment she called herself a coward. She was the leader of the immortals, no heartbroken and weak female! She would not run.

'I pledged my service to your brother, the king of Erebor.' Loaren spoke up. 'We will secure your safe passage through Middle Earth and to Erebor and if our presence will no longer be required, we will go back to the shadows.'

Dis sneered as Loaren looked at her. 'We can provide our own safety, there is no need of dishonorable mercenaries of men.'

'With all due respect, mylady.' Loaren had to fight back her fury about Dis´ words. 'You will have many females and young ones with you, the caravan will be long and slow and the road is still dangerous. The safety of your people lies in your hands and you are responsible for….'

'I do not need a woman to tell me where my responsibilities lie!' Dis growled and walked towards Loaren menacingly. 'Our females can fight and we can protect our young ones without the need of your men. We do not need you.'

With these last words, Dis turned away and stormed back into the mountain, Thorin and Dwalin following on her heels. Only Dori and Ori stayed with Loaren and looked at her in worry.

'Is everything alright?' Ori asked quietly.

'No, nothing is alright.' Loaren sighed sadly. 'This is Fili´s and Kili´s mother? Are you sure?'

The faint humor in her voice made Ori smile. 'The One and only. She is a very intimidating dwarf, but she will listen to reason. Thorin will convince her of accepting your service.'

Loaren bit her lip to not point out that apparently, Thorin did not want her services either, but then she nodded grimly. 'I will ride back to my men and gather them here. I will be back in two days. Until then, a decision should be made.'

With a sad smile, Loaren parted from Dori and Ori and rode towards Bree. The wonderful days in the Shire seemed so far away and like a dream….a dream never to repeat itself and Loaren wondered why it hurt so much.

Dis stood at the balcony of her chambers and watched Loaren ride away.

'You have no reason to not trust her, sister.' Thorin told her and something in his voice made Dis suspicious.

'I do not trust the race of men.' Dis growled. 'Not after what they have done.'

'Not all men are like the ones in….' Thorin started, but then a deathglare from his sister made him stop midsentence.

'Men are weak and they are dishonorable and filthy creatures.' Dis hissed. 'I will never forget what they have done to me and my family. And I will never forgive.'

With that, Thorin realized that the past had caught up with them once more and that even the reclaiming of Erebor did not heal all wounds.

0

Two days later, Loaren returned with her men and saw in surprise, that the gates opened for them. The immortals were invited in, but neither lady Dis, nor king Thorin or any other dwarf of the company showed. Loaren and her men made camp by the stables, where they were told to wait and gave last instructions. The immortals would stay in eyesight of the caravan, but not too close to not make any dwarf feel uncomfortable. They would scout ahead and clear the way, so that the caravan would be able to move without delay. It took another two days, then the dwarves of Erebor were ready to march north, towards their home.

Loaren could see the happiness and the excitement in the older dwarve´s faces and the anxiety to see their old home again. The young ones seemed reluctant to leave the only home they had ever known, but still, most of the dwarves seemed full of energy and spirit. Seeing their shining eyes and happy faces made Loaren forget her own sadness for a while and she rode towards the head of the caravan, from where she would lead her men. At the head of the long column, she noticed that a second wagon had been added and that some of the dwarven guards were clad differently. A beautiful dwarven lady in rich clothing and nicely braided hair sat on the wagon and smiled at Loaren. She was young, blonde and she had soft female curves as well and Loaren thought that she had to be the epitomisation of dwarven beauty. But in contrast to lady Dis´ glare, this dwarf looked at her with a genuine smile and an open expression.

'You are the leader of the immortals?' her voice was high for a dwarf and her tone soft, which made Loaren frown in surprise.

'Yes, I am. Loaren, at your service.' Loaren would keep her distance from the dwarves, so much she had decided after seing that Thorin ignored her still.

'Frigg, at yours.' the dwarf smiled.

'Princess Frigg, do not forget that.' Dis stepped in and looked at Loaren with a guarded expression. 'Princess of Ered Luin and the future queen of Erebor.'

Loaren felt her heart shatter into many icy pieces as she heard what Dis was saying.

'In exchange for the generous hospitality of the dwarves of Ered Luin after our home was destroyed, we decided that by bonding our lines, we would show the outmost respect and gratitude.' Dis continued to look at Loaren with a testing glare. 'It was written down in a contract before my brother left for his quest and tonight, we signed it.'

So Thorin had been engaged all this time and he had not told her. Loaren expected to feel anger, fury and betrayal, but she only felt hollow and shattered. She looked at the young dwarven princess and could not even hate her, for she had no part of her misery. And compared to Dis, she seemed nice and warm hearted.

'Congratulations, mylady.' Loaren heard herself say, but she did not have the strength for more.

Loaren did not see the pitiful expressions on Dori´s and Ori´s faces, nor the frown on Dwalin´s and Dis´ faces and she did not see that Thorin looked at her for the first time in days with an expression of regret and love. With an empty glare, she rode to the head of the caravan and ordered her men to move. They would be on the road for many months, since the caravan was moving slowly. For the first time in weeks, Loaren pulled her mask over her face again and let the cold golden metal cool her face and hide her tears.


	18. Chapter 18

The caravan from Ered Luin moved north slowly. It was raining for days and the dwarves and men were soaking wet and miserable. Some wagons were giving some protection of the rain, but they were full of dwarflings and old ones. Loaren had noticed that in the whole caravan of many hundred dwarves, there were only about five dwarflings. Ori had told her that dwarflings were rare, but she had never realized how rare they were. Every dwarfling was a gift and they were worth more to the dwarves than anything else in Middle Earth and beyond. Loaren watched a very small red haired dwarfling, who always stuck his head out of the first wagon only to be pulled back by his mother, a black haired dwarf lady with fierce eyes. The lads name was Gimli and Loaren adored him. The little one was fierce, stubborn and so incredibly cute. She would not tell him the later, of course.

She had not spoken to neither Thorin nor Dis and she felt her disappointment and desperation about her broken bond to Thorin bubble just beneath the surface. But had there ever been a bond? He had told her that his feelings for her were true, but all he had done since Bilbo had told them that he would stay in the Shire had proven him wrong. Now, he was back to his moody self and was brooding on his pony. He had tried to speak to her after the caravan had left the southern realm, but Loaren had kept her distance. There was nothing to speak about anymore, Thorin was about to be married and she had been right all this time – they simply did not have a future together, at leats not as lovers. Sometimes, Loaren could feel his gaze in her back, but it felt like a thousand painful and cold needles. His sister, the lady Dis, who Loaren had been desperate to meet, hated her and Loaren could barely imagine the arrogant and heartless dwarf woman being the mother of Fili and Kili. When they had returned to Erebor, the princes would probably turn from her as well, out of respect for their mother. Dwalin had also turned from her, only Dori and Ori had stayed true friends and spoke to her. Dori even glared at Dwalin and especially Thorin, but he did not say a word about the torturing silence between them and Loaren. He always made sure that Loaren was treated with respect and soon, some dwarves called her Loaren, daughter of Dori, which made them both smile.

'Would this make me your big brother?' Ori asked expectantly.

'No, no, this would make you my little brother, Ori dear.' Loaren grinned, although she knew that Ori was way older than her.

'But I am older than you, even in men years!' Ori exclaimed. 'Or do I look like twenty?'

'Twentytwo.' Loaren stated and smiled at Ori´s yelp.

From behind them, Dis frowned at the way the Ri brothers and Loaren bonded.

'I will never trust those men. We are travelling for days now and we have never even seen their faces. What coward hides his face behind a mask?' Dis sneered.

'Their leader showed us her face, it did not help you trusting her.' it was the first time that Dwalin spoke up in Loaren´s favor.

'Nobody trusts them.' Dis continued. 'The stories that travel Middle Earth about these mercenaries are one worse than the other. Their bad reputation will fall back on Erebor and the line of Durin.'

'Their reputation is a fierce one, but I have heard nothing bad about them.' Thorin told her, but kept his gaze on Loaren´s back. She was laughing now, a sound that reached right for his heart although he tried to fight it.

Thorin had been hurt deeply as he realized that Loaren had known that Bilbo wanted to stay in the Shire and had kept it from him. He had felt betrayed once more, like the time when Bilbo had kept the arkenstone from him. He had been tortured by the memory of betrayal, a feeling made almost unbearable by the goldsickness within him. A little voice in his head told him that true friends did not exist and that they would turn their backs on him the moment he trusted them. In Loaren´s case, the betrayal had felt even worse. Bilbo had been his friend, but Loaren had been so much more. Of course, Thorin had not forgotten about his engagement to Frigg, but he had planned to call it off when he returned to Ered Luin, no matter the prize. But when Dis had reminded him of the contract with Ered Luin a few days ago, Thorin had been so hurt and betrayed that he had not spoken against it. When he had seen Loaren´s reaction to the engagement, he could see the pain and disbelief in her eyes, but his first reaction was a grim and dark satisfaction, for her feeling as betrayed as he did. This feeling only lasted for a split moment and was replaced by a hollow and piercing pain. A pain that got worse with every step they took without speaking. But still, his pride and his arrogance made him stay away from Loaren and her pride made her stay away from the king as well, since she had done nothing wrong and her stubbornness matched his own.

Dis watched Thorin´s odd behaviour for a while now, he behaved like that since he had arrived at the gates of Ered Luin. She was sure that this woman was the reason, she had seen the glances they had thrown towards each other when the other one was not looking. Dis felt her stomach revolt in fury and pain, she would never accept a woman from the race of men in her family, she would not and she could not. She despised men, all of them, even more than elves. They were nothing but dishonorable and heartless monsters. Until today, she had never told anyone what had happened to her in the villages of men after they had fled their home. She had tried to bury the memory deep in her soul, but it only gnawed through her from the inside and slowly destroyed her. Back then, her husband and her Fili had been her safe harbor, but then her husband died and left her alone with their dwarfling…..and Kili….her little Kili. Dis could not believe how much she loved him – maybe, she would also be able to feel more than hatred towards men one day? But Dis knew that this day would never come, she would never let that happen.

This woman and her men would have to leave as soon as possible, but when Dis looked at Thorin, she knew that this would not be an easy task. When he looked at the woman, Dis saw something in his eyes, which he had only shown towards Fili and Kili and towards her. She could see the real Thorin and his emotions and longings, not the king and his duties and it made Dis feel even more hatred towards Loaren. A small voice inside her head told her that she should rejoice in her brother´s happiness, but a louder voice made all doubt disappear. Thorin was not happy, his glance was troubled and he did not speak more than he needed to. If this woman had become a part of his life, she was no good part – so much Dis told herself.

Loaren had fallen back to the second wagon and spoke to little Gimli and his mother and also Frigg, who had made friends amongst the dwarves of Erebor very quickly. The young princess was of a very plain, almost dense, mind, but she had a good heart and even Loaren liked her very much. Hild, Gloin´s wife and little Gimli were very friendly as well, although Loaren had feared the fierce Hild in the beginning. But as little Gimli warmed up to Loaren, Hild did as well. Loaren heard so many stories about master Gloin that she got dizzy, but they made her bad mood disappear and made her days more bearable. She found out that Frigg had not agreed to a marriage to Thorin, but that she had fallen head over heels as she had seen the handsome dwarf king in Ered Luin. Frigg admired the king Thorin was, but she did not know the dwarf he was. Sometimes, Loaren had to chuckle in amusement as she thought about the moody dwarf king and the incredibly cheerful princess, she would drive him insane with her merriness. While a part of Loaren desperately wanted, even needed, to hate Frigg, she simply could not.

Seeing Frigg and Loaren together tortured Thorin more than anything, seeing them laugh together scared the living daylight out of him and made Dwalin grin in satisfaction. Dwalin knew that Thorin loved Loaren, but that his insufferable pride had maneuvered him into a situation where he would only barely escape from. At the beginning of their journey, Thorin had tried to apologise to Loaren, what had surprised Dwalin more than anything, but then the stubborn woman had turned him down and they had not spoken since then. Now, Loaren made friends with the dwarves of Thorin´s kin and even with his queen to be. Dwalin disliked Frigg a lot, her beauty and her grace did not hide the fact that the princess was plain stupid in his eyes. And she was young, too young for a king like Thorin.

Dori and Ori had not spoken to Thorin again either, hence Ori did not speak to Dwalin. They all missed Bilbo and the Shire and the peaceful days they had spent there, but now reality had them back.

0

'Wargs!' one of Loaren´s scouts came riding back to the caravan with a murderous speed. 'Over two dozen of them, riding south!'

Loaren paled and looked back at the caravan behind her, they had just passed the Misty Mountains and the heavy wagons only rolled very slowly, they would be the perfect victim to the wargs.

'We need to distract them and lure them deeper into the mountains.' Loaren took charge and pulled down her mask. She instructed one of her younger men to inform Thorin of Dis of the situation and took twenty of her best warriors with her. Her second in command would stay with the dwarves and the rest of the immortals. 'Keep the caravan moving!'

Loaren could see the look of alarm on Thorin´s face as she rode away, but she forced her mind to focus on the upcoming battle. Over two dozen wargs were a dangerous match and she could not pull off more than twenty of her men, for the safety of the caravan in case they failed to stop the wargs.

A few moments later, Loaren and her men found the wargs on the path south, their noses in the air, sniffing for fresh flesh. They could not smell the dwarves, yet, and Loaren would try anything in her might to stop them from continuing their way south. Her plan was to lure them deep into the Misty Mountains and to slaughter them there. The horses of the immortals were used to fight in stony terrain, so the wargs should have no advantage. She took a bow and an arrow from her back and shot the first warg rider. Then she told her men to ride.

Her plan worked better than expected, the wargs followed them onto a burned cliff and soon, the immortals had slaughtered every single one of them. The wargs were young and inexperienced and their riders seemed weak of hunger. Only one of Loaren´s men was injured and he would be treated when they returned to the caravan and made camp. The sun was about to set in the distance as Loaren gave order to ride back. When she followed her men, her horse stumbled over a big piece of wood and snorted angrily. Loaren looked down at the piece of wood and frowned. It looked familiar to her, very familiar, but she had never been in this part of Middle Earth and she could not say where she had seen this piece of – it looked like oak – before. She jumped of her horse and inspected the wood that looked like an oaken branch closely. As she turned it over, she could see that it was polished and hollow on the inside. Many deep gashed showed on the polished side and suddenly Loaren realized where she had seen this oaken branch before – in Ori´s journal. In astonishment, Loaren turned around and realized that she was standing at the cliff where the company of Thorin Oakenshield, the later king of Erebor had fled from the goblins and then Azog´s wargs on the Great Eagles. Ori had told her about that quest every evening, when they sat around the fire in Bag End and Bilbo had even drawn a picture of the Oakenshield. It was definetly the piece of oak Loaren was holding in her hands now. It was Thorin´s Oakenshield.

Loaren jumped as one of her men came riding back to look after her, then she realized that the sun was gone and the air had gotten chilly. With a nod, she grabbed the shield and mounted her horse to make back to camp.

0

Thorin paced up and down beside the wagon carrying the royal household. Loaren and her men had been gone for a long time now and the caravan had stopped to make camp. Some of Loaren´s men had already returned, one of them was badly injured, but he would live. The worry for Loaren almost made Thorin lose his mind, but the immortal who had reported back to him had only shrugged his shoulders and had told him that his captain would return when she deemed it fit.

Little Gimli and Frigg were sitting on the other wagon together, starring north into the path that Loaren and her men had taken, while Dis and Hild prepared some stew over the fire.

'Do not worry, young master Gimli, they will return.' Thorin could hear Frigg´s soft voice. 'No, I am sure that they will not need your help.'

Despite his worry, Thorin had to grin at little Gimli´s spirit and watched as the little dwarfling raised his miniature axe into the air, grumbling adorably. The sound of hooves made him jump and he could not fight a relieved sigh as Loaren and the rest of her men appeared in the dark. He almost expected one of Loaren´s immortals to report back to him as always, but this time Loaren reluctantly walked towards him. His heart beating wildly in joy and relief, Thorin took a step forward and stopped as Loaren looked him dead in the eye. For a moment, Thorin could see what she felt for him, but then her professional bearing as a warrior took over and her eyes turned blank.

'The road north is safe again, king Thorin.' she reported and stood there with her back straight and her hand on the dagger at her side.

'You have my gratitude, captain.' Thorin forced himself to keep a steady voice. He noticed that Dis had stopped preparing the stew and looked at Loaren with a dark expression. 'All our gratitude.'

But Loaren had also noticed Dis´ glare and looked back at the king´s sister with a grim expression. 'I am sure of it.'

Thorin sighed in defeat, since the caravan had left Ered Luin, Loaren had been developed a passive aggressive attitude towards Dis and provoked her whenever she could. She showed her the respect she deserved as the king´s sister, but not more. The two females behaved like two wildcats when in each other´s company. But before Dis could snap, Loaren turned back to Thorin and held up something with her right arm.

'I found this near the old goblin tunnels.' Loaren´s tone had grown softer. 'On a burned cliff. I suppose that this is yours.'

Thorin tore his gaze from her beloved face and focused on the item. He could hear Dwalin, Dori and Ori gasp behind him and Dis´ snarl.

'The Oakenshield!' Dis had also recognized her brother´s shield.

Thorin slowly walked forward and took it from Loaren´s grasp. For the first time since they had left Ered Luin, they talked.

'Ori told me about your quest and also about Azanulbizar.' Loaren told him in a soft tone. 'Bilbo has a picture of the Oakenshield in his own journal about the quest…..I figured that you would like to have it back, as a legacy of the battles won.'

Thorin looked down at the shield in his grasp and felt a feeling of sensation move up his arm and into his mind. He had missed this shield and having it back felt as if a piece of his own soul had been returned back to him. That Loaren of all people had brought him back his shield was almost too overwhelming.

'Thank you.' Thorin´s voice was hoarse, but the dwarves near him could hear.

'You are welcome….m….king Thorin.' Loaren slowly retreated and bit her lip before she could say "my" king. Thorin was not her king, not anymore.

After Loaren had left for her men, Thorin stood at the fire, the Oakenshield in his hand and his gaze on its gashes and burns. The shield was heavily damaged, but he would be able to fix it when they were back in Erebor. The moment was interrupted by Dwalin, who had taken the big wooden spoon and hit it against the pot in incredibly loud bangs.

'Take food, take food!'


	19. Chapter 19

On some days, it was really hard for Loaren to not hate Dis. Thorin´s sister did not hide the fact that she hated Loaren and her immortals and she also tried to keep everybody else away from her. Loaren had always imagined Dis to be the strong female in the house of Durin, who ruled with a strong, demanding, but yet soft and loving hand. Knowing Fili and Kili, she had always thought to find a sister in Dis, but that hope had been crushed soon. Loaren knew that there was more behind the king´s sister´s behaviour, a reason why she hated men so much, but nobody would tell her.

Now, that the anger about Thorin´s behaviour and his stubbornness had passed, Loaren could see that their distance bothered him a lot. But still, she was not the one who would apologise, she had done nothing wrong. He had pushed her away after Bilbo´s confession and he had thrown her to the wolfes, or better say, to Dis´ feet.

Loaren decided that he would have to get a kingly grip and often rode with Frigg, Hild and Gimli, much to the anger of Dis. To Loaren´s amusement, Frigg seemed to be deaf to Dis´ hateful comments towards Loaren and although she was not the brightest dwarf, she did trust her heart. Hild distanced herself from Loaren when Dis was near, but Gimli soon loved Loaren like an aunt. Their company made Loaren´s days pass more merrily than before. The caravan had not been attacked again and the road was peaceful. The days turned warm and sunny again, and the mood of the dwarves and men lifted.

One day, Loaren rode in the middle of the caravan and watched Thorin and Frigg talk. They were walking together and Frigg looked at the king with sparkling eyes, which made Loaren´s gut wrench. She obviously was very smitten with Thorin and the king did not seem to fight her advances, which made Loaren sigh. Apparently, he did move on and their few days had really been nothing more than a dream. Or he had used her, like any other man would have done. But what had he used, really? Loaren bit her lip, they had spent half a night kissing and they had shared other kisses some days later, but she had never really given him anything – but her heart, she thought grimly. She remembered the thoughtfulness behind his actions, the dinner and the party. Despite what everyone thought, she had recognized the meaning behind the flowers at their wedding. Could all of that really have been a lie? Loaren did not trust her heart anymore and she decided that from now on, she would use her head. Well, at least she would try.

After many weeks, they could see the Lonely Mountain on the horizon and the dwarves who still remembered their home cheered loudly. Loaren decided to send forth a messenger to inform Erebor of their arrival, with their current speed, they would reach Erebor in less than one week.

Then, the day had come and the caravan moved towards Erebors gates. The dwarves moved faster, now that they were about to enter their new and old home again and many dwarves had gathered around the gates to welcome their relatives. Little Gimli was the first who began to run as he saw his father Gloin. He was wearing Loaren´s golden mask and he forgot to put it down, so everyone could see a wee dwarfling with waving red hair and a golden mask run towards the mountain as fast as his short legs could carry him. Gloin did not care much, he rushed towards his son and almost crushed him in a bone breaking embrace, which made the mask fall to the ground. Loaren could see Hild smile at the stormy reunion as she walked towards them fast, but elegantly, like a dwarf lady was supposed to. But of course, she ran the last few steps as well and little Gimli was sandwiched between his parents, who hugged, kissed and cried happily. The happy reunion brought tears to Loaren´s eyes and she smiled happily as they passed the united family.

Dis frown deepened as she saw the honest emotion on the mercenary´s face, but even in her deep hatred, she could see the sympathy in Loaren´s eyes. Sympathy for her people. Dis was about to shake her head to clear her mind as she saw one dark haired whirlwind rush past Loaren´s horse, almost scaring the living daylight out of it and rushing into her arms, almost throwing her out of balance. It was her "little boy", Kili, who had thrown his arms around her and had buried his face in her neck. Her golden boy, Fili, stood at the gate and tried to present all the royal responsibility that Thorin had trusted him with. She could see that he wanted to throw himself into his mother´s arms as well, but he was the crown prince and ruler of Erebor in Thorin´s absence and he would not behave like a young dwarf. So he waited until his mother and his brother came to him and then closed his arms around both. Dis´ hair muffled his sobs of joy and soon, he felt his uncle´s hand on his shoulder and could see the proud smile on Thorin´s face. The king was back, now he could be the young dwarf he truly was again, at least for now.

Loaren watched the dwarves embrace their relatives and friends and noticed that the entrance to the mountain was crowded and blocked by the wagons. Pulling her gaze from the happy reunions, she told her men to move the wagons into the mountain and secure the area. When she turned around to pick up her mask from the ground, she could feel a gaze on her. Kili had moved out of his mother´s arms and watched her. As she picked up the mask and looked at him, she could see him frown deeply and suddenly remembered that the dwarves in Erebor did not know that she was a woman, yet. With a small smile, she held up her hand with the mask as a greeting, only to see Kili faint and fall like a rock. Of course, Dis was by his side in an instant and glared daggers at Loaren, while Dwalin and Ori giggled loudly. Fili looked at Loaren and came over to greet her.

'What happened? We had been waiting for you for days since the messenger arrived, but I did not know that he was that exhausted. What?' Fili saw that Thorin, Dwalin, Ori and Dori looked at him expectantly and then looked back at Loaren. 'Why is everyone staring at me like that?'

Dwalin cleared his throat and nodded his head towards Loaren, but Fili did not understand.

'What?' Fili thought that Dwalin wanted him to thank Loaren and her men for their support. 'Welcome back, thank you for your service!'

'You are welcome, prince Fili.' Loaren answered in amusement, for Fili had apparently not yet realized that her gender was different.

At the sound of her voice, Fili paused a moment, but then he decided to turn around and help his mother carry Kili back into the mountain. Dwalin gave a loud snort and Dori and Ori exchanged an amused glance. Thorin only rolled his eyes and then decided to follow his sister and her sons into the mountain reluctantly. With a last glance at Loaren, he turned away and left her with his kin, while he would have to show Frigg her new home.

'Oh my…..and I thought Thorin was the thick Durin.' Dori whispered and made Ori giggle again.

Balin and Nori joined the group, as well as the other members of Thorin´s old company, all of them staring at Loaren, who was still sitting on her horse.

'Huh…..I maybe deaf, but apparently I was blind as well.' Oin remarked in amusement as he looked at Loaren.

'I knew.' Nori shrugged his shoulders, but quickly straightened when Dori and Ori looked at him in clear doubt. 'I did! It was just way more fun to make you all find out that way!'

Bofur laughed loudly and blinked at Loaren. 'Ah, I should have known that this butt cannot belong to a man, you make a wonderful figure in that armor, lass….'

He blinked at her again and made Loaren blush.

'You all thought that she was a man?' Hild joined them with Gimli and Gloin, who were still hugging tightly. 'How can you be so thick?'

'I never showed my face and I did not speak.' Loaren told her, but Hild only waved her hand. 'There were enough other indications.'

With a glance around, Hild pointed toward two masked immortals and grinned at the other dwarves and Loaren. 'This one on the right side of the gate and that one over there with the spear, these are females as well, am I right?'

Loaren followed her gaze and had to admit that she was right, these two immortals were Nala and Gouna, two of her female immortals. She nodded and Hild grinned in triumph.

'How do you…..how can you…..?' Dwalin looked the two immortals up and down with a piercing gaze, but he could not distinguish them from the others.

'Ah…that´s my secret.' Hild grinned widely and patted Dwalin´s cheek, before she turned around and disappeared into the mountain with a laughing Gloin and Gimli at her side.

Although she knew that she had not heard the last from Dis and that she would be trapped inside of the dark mountain again, Loaren looked forward to some days in peace and private. The welcome had been warmer that she had expected, but she was sure that this welcome feeling would not last long.

As she passed the gate with her immortals and felt it shut behind her, she suddenly looked up to see Fili halfway up the stairs to the royal wing, staring at her.

'My Sweet Mahal.' was all he said with huge eyes.

'There it is…took long enough.' she heard Dwalin mutter beside her.

0

'How can you still trust her? Her service began with a lie!' Dis looked at Thorin, Fili and Kili. 'She lied to you from the beginning!'

'Her gender was not relevant for the services of the immortals. They rarely take off their masks and it was not important.' Fili tried to persuade his mother.

'Not important!' Dis was furious. 'She could move around inside of this mountain undetected, because none of you knew how she really looks like! She and her men could be spies and nobody would even be able to recognize them!'

Dis did have a valid point and Thorin and Fili exchanged a look.

'If they would be spies, then they would have acted by now.' Balin joined them and shook his head. 'The immortals were loyal guards during the last months and we could rely on their services blindly and concentrate on the more pressing things, like preparing the quarters and rooms and prepare the kitchens to host enough dwarves during winter. The only room where we posted dwarven guard was the treasury. If they were spies, they would have used the last months to attack us in some way, while we were defenseless. But they protected this mountain and the inhabitants.'

'What if they steal from us?' Dis was not assured. 'The Eastern king is greedy, I heard about his reputation. And this woman is his daughter! A woman who rather joined honorless mercenaries for money than take the duty of a princess! Who knows what she will also do for money…..'

'Enough!' Dis jumped as Thorin roared through the royal quarters. 'I know that you do not trust her, but she and her men have done nothing to deserve you mistrust. Without them, we could not have taken control over the mountain so easily and we could not have brought you all here before winter. They have served us loyaly.'

'For money.' Dis sneered.

'That is the purpose of a mercenary.' Thorin remarked dryly and met his sister´s glare.

'Then why did she hide her face if all of this was "not important"?' Dis asked and loked at the male dwarves.

'I can understand her motives, at least she could hide her face with Kili, Nori and Bofur staring at her behind all the time.' Fili teased his younger brother.

'I knew that there was something about him…her…..I just could not put a finger on it.' Kili grinned. 'Thank goodness that she is a woman, I was already doubting my sanity.'

'If you want to know why she hid her gender from us, you could ask her yourself.' Thorin had enough of his sister´s negativity. 'Talk to her, maybe you will be able to trust her as we all do.'

'I will never trust a man or a woman.' Dis grinded her teeth. 'You will see one day, that this folk cannot be trusted.'

With these words, she turned away and left for her own room to blow of steam. Balin closed his eyes in defeat and Thorin, Fili and Kili looked at each other in worry.

'So…..' Kili stood up on still shaky legs and walked a bit. 'Who is the blonde beauty that devours uncle with her eyes?'

'Oh right!' Fili turned towards Thorin, who looked uncomfortable. 'She is really beautiful, why weren´t we introduced?'

'Well, for one, Kili was unconscious.' Thorin remarked with a grin towards his youngest nephew. 'And we will have a welcome dinner tonight, where you can meet my queen to be.'

'Queen to be!' Her!' Kili was excited. 'You are a lucky dwarf, uncle, she really is a beauty.'

'So this is princess Frigg of Ered Luin?' Balin nodded and watched Thorin closely. 'But you do not look happy about that arrangement, my king.'

Thorin cursed into his beard, he was rarely able to hide his feelings from Balin.

'I…I never wished to marry.' Thorin tried to convince himself. 'Fili is my heir.'

'You will not have to change that.' Balin insisted. 'Even if you had a son with Frigg, Fili could still be the heir. And maybe, you might have daughters as beautiful as their mother….'

'Then I would never let them leave the mountain…..' Thorin paused and remembered how he explained to Loaren why she had barely seen female dwarves. 'Maybe I should tell Ren that this is one of the reasons…what?'

Thorin looked up and realized that he had thought loudly and that Balin, Fili and Kili watched him with big eyes.

'You call her Ren?' Fili asked.

'You talk to her?' Kili asked directly afterwards and made Balin grin.

'Yes, I talk to her, we spent the last months together, how should we have done that without talking?' Thorin asked irritatedly.

'Well, as you have done before, tell one of us to tell her that or tell her this….' Fili stopped talking as he noticed Thorin´s frown. 'Alright, you two are talking now, that is a good thing is it not? Although things seemed to not have changed between you as you arrived at the mountain. You ignored her and she looked at you when she thought that nobody saw.'

Balin´s grin widened and Thorin tried to hide his blush. The old advisor had noticed the strange behavior between Thorin and Loaren as well, but he had also noticed that Loaren and Frigg got along very well. Balin rubbed his hands together and made sure that he would watch this drama when it unfolded. He only hoped that everything would end as it should be best for all participants. Princess Frigg was not the right queen for Thorin, she was Kili´s age, for Mahal´s sake. He had seen Thorin roll his eyes in annoyance as Frigg had skipped along the corridors of Erebor like an excited child, inspecting all the halls and rooms while clapping her hands together. Frigg was a very merry dwarf, with an urge to be friends with everybody she met, a huge contrast to Thorin. While Balin thought that this would not be that bad on the one hand, he knew that Thorin would go insane with that childqueen at his side. Although he promised this to be pretty amusing for everybody, except Thorin, Balin formed a plan in his mind. But he would need his brother and the Ri brothers for this.


	20. Chapter 20

The following days under the mountain of Erebor were passing swiftly, everyone had their task and their responsibilities. Thorin sat in council, Dis took command over the returning dwarves and helped them to settle in, Fili and Kili stayed with their mother and Dwalin took over command of the mountain´s security. Since the dwarves of Ered Luin had to settle in first, he asked the Immortals to stay in charge of the mountain´s defenses and made sure that the highest ranks guarded the king and the queen. Since Dwalin thought that it was a good idea to give Frigg an own guard, he decided that Loaren and her female Immortals should stay with her for her protection. Loaren protested strongly, but in the end, Dwalin made clear that Loaren and her Immortals were paid to do what they were told by the dwarves of Erebor and their gold. It was a low shot and Dwalin winced when he saw Loaren´s expression turn icy, but he had to stick to the plan. From that day on, Frigg was surrounded by a personal guard of two Immortals, two during the day and two at night. They guarded the door to her personal chambers and stayed at her side during the day when she sat beside Thorin in council to learn. Frigg took her new duties with excitement at first, but council bored her to death and she did not understand one tiny little bit. She did not understand anything about the trade arrangements or how the mountain was ruled and the responsibilities that came with it. She had been trained to be a queen one day, but she felt as if that day had come too soon. She was overwhelmed and frightened and Thorin´s glares did not help. Loaren, who was in duty of the dayshift, watched the young dwarf struggle and tried to help. Sometimes, after council, she sat down with Frigg and explained to her what had been said in the council, but it was nervewracking. Not only did Frigg lack the intelligence to understand many of it, she lacked the interest. Her interest rested with the people inside of the mountain and she invested all of her thought into making them settle down quickly. Frigg brought a homely atmosphere into the mountain and concentrated on the kitchens and the homes of the reunited families. But Friggs interest forced Loaren to spend time with Dis, since Dis was in charge of the resettling. Their daily encounters made Dis pick on Loaren even more and Loaren lost more respect of the king´s sister every day. Frigg tried her best to make the two ladies bond in their mutual friendship to her, but it did not work. But Frigg would not give up – she would talk to Dori.

Frigg´s feelings towards Thorin were a little bit more complicated, she still fancied him, but every time he acted annoyed about her slow learning, she often wondered if he would ever be able to smile at her once. She knew that there would be no love between them, it was an arranged marriage and even she knew that they were not based on love. But she had expected to at least like her future husband. Frigg had to be honest, she fancied him strongly, he was good looking, strong, with broad shoulders, a strong chest, massive arms and gentle hands, although they looked as if they belonged to a black smith. His nephew Fili had told her that Thorin had been a black smith in the days when the dwarves of Erebor travelled Middle Earth as homeless people. He had told her that Thorin had labored in the villages of men to earn money for his kin and that it had not been easy. Frigg admired Thorin even more for this, but she felt more at ease with Fili, who spent time with her and spoke to her normaly and not as if she was a mere dwarfling. Sometimes, Frigg had the feeling that the king did not have a heart, but she would not give up easily, maybe there was more to him than met the eye and she would have a whole married life to find that out.

0

Loaren and her second in command marched to the throne room to guard the royal couple. Loaren was glad that she could wear her mask during duty, she felt safer behind her armor. She could watch Thorin without anyone noticing and she could see that he look tired and worn out. He had shadows under his eyes and he seemed in a bad mood for days, despite the wonderful reunion of his people. Sometimes, he took a glance at her, but immediately diverted his gaze again. It seemed as if both tried to forget their time in the Shire for their duties´ sake.

She was especially glad for her mask that day, when Thorin and the council decided that the Immortals would stay in the service of Erebor and set up a letter that would be carried to the east by merchants from the Iron hills, together with the payment. When Loaren stepped forward to protest, Frigg walked over to her and smiled warmly at her.

'Loaren, I am so glad that you will remain in our services! I feel safe around you and I am sure that no queen could have a better personal guard. I would miss you and Nala, Gouna….and oh, what´s the other one´s name? Oh yes, Kira…I love Kira she is so sweet, she always watches where I step, like a big sister.' Frigg smiled at Loaren and noticed that she sighed deeply. 'What is the matter? Are you not happy to be here? Do you miss your home?'

Loaren closed her eyes in defeat and tried not to look at Thorin. 'I am a mercenary, I have no home.' after a pause she added 'I feel honored to be in your service, my queen.'

Thorin felt each of her words like a sting fo a knife to his heart, he could hear the sadness in her voice and he could see her stiff bearing. But he could also see the warm gleam in her eyes when she looked at Frigg and he knew that Loaren would stay if his future queen asked her to. Deep in his heart, he wished that she would stay because of him, but he knew that he had lost the right to even hope for her affection ever again. Sometimes, when the council was mind numbingly boring, he let his mind wander and thought about the Shire. He asked himself how Bilbo was faring and he hoped that his dear friend was happy. He also remembered how happy he had felt and how happy Loaren had looked. He thought about their embraces and their kisses and sometimes he even allowed himself to remember how beautiful she looked at the party. When Balin cleared his throat to wake Thorin from his daydreaming, Thorin would only see motionless Immortals standing behind him and Frigg, all of them wearing silver masks. Loaren had begun to wear a silver mask as well, for she was no longer the leader of her men, they were all under his command now and under the command of his captain of the guard, Dwalin.

But he would always recognise her, he had memorised the way she moved and her bearing in different situations. Sometimes, he could not believe that they had not spoken since the day when she had found the Oakenshield. She was a part of Frigg´s life now, her bodyguard and sometimes even her friend. He could see the disapproval in her bearing when he reacted annoyed about his future queen and that annoyed him even more. Frigg and Loaren were the last two females he wanted to bond, but then again he was happy for both of them to have a friend so far away from their homes.

Dis on the other hand loathed over the fact that Loaren had found friends within her kin. Especially her friendship to Frigg angered Dis beyond reason. Frigg was supposed to be her sister, her confidant. But Frigg always took sides with that human woman when Dis and Loaren had an argument – which happened on a regular basis. Now that Loaren was wearing a silver mask like the other Immortals, it was hard for Dis to distinguish her from the other mercenaries, so she snarled at every one of them when their paths crossed. She would know if it was Loaren, because the woman was the only one who snapped back, the other Immortals took her animosity with a stoic patience. One day, when Dis had sneered at an Immortal guard who had blocked the way into Frigg´s chambers, little Gimli had come running down the hall and had burst in, with his mother on his heels.

'But, lady Dis, this is Gouna, not lady Ren!' Gimli told Dis with a stern expression and then looked up at the tall immortal guard, who nodded at him in greeting.

Gimli was very good at distinguishing the Immortals despite their masks, he always played "guess the Immortal" with Fili and Kili and he won every time. Soon, all of the dwarves of Thorin´s old company played along, but none of them were as good as Gimli. Hild managed to distinguish the female from the male Immortals, but not more, while Gimli knew them all.

Today, Dis was sitting in council alongside her brother and could see that he was not paying attention. His mood had worsened in the last days and had turned from moody to sad and Dis worried about her brother. She had hoped that Frigg´s beauty and a warm dwarven body in her brother´s bed would lighten his mood, but Frigg had told her that she had never spent the night in Thorin´s chambers, although it was very common that a betrothed couple shared a bed before the wedding. Frigg seemed to lose interest in Thorin as well, for his cold demeanour made her recoil from him and turn towards Fili and Kili, who were also closer to her age. Only at dinner, when the family sat together, Frigg sometimes tried to sit near Thorin and stroke his arm or even his beard and Thorin would let her, although he did not seem comfortable.

Speaking of dinner, according to the grumbling stomachs of the council members, it was way past dinner time and Dis saw Balin stand up and holding up his hands, dismissing the council until the next day. Together with Thorin and Frigg, Dis walked back to the royal chambers, accompanied by two dwarven guards and two Immortals. The way Thorin behaved around one of them showed Dis that it had to be Loaren. She did not know how her brother could tell, but he saw the way he looked at her and she did not like it. During dinner, the two guards usually stood outside of the chambers and another two on the inside to protect the royal family from possible dangers coming from the servants; it never happened, but it was protocol. Tonight, the two Immortals stood at the inside of the door and watched over dinner.

It was a merry gathering, Fili and Kili had joined them, as well as Balin, Dwalin and the Ri brothers. Frigg was chattering happily to Thorin and Thorin seemed to have a massive headache, but he seemed to relax a bit as Frigg touched his arm. This time, Dis could distinguish which one of the Immortals had to be Loaren, for the right one of them stiffened at the sight of the intimate royal couple. With a smug grin, Dis looked at the mercenary, as a loud knock interrupted the chattering.

'Dessert!' Frigg jumped and merrily threw her hands into the hair, making Thorin jump. She stood up and almost skipped to the door to greet the servants, which made most of the dwarves chuckle. It was almost impossible to be in a bad mood around Frigg. Even Loaren had to chuckle at the sight of Thorin and his incredibly merry wife to be.

Later that night, Thorin and Frigg retired and walked to their shared chambers with their guard behind them. Thorin could practically feel Loaren´s gaze burning into his back and he hated himself for doing this to her. He knew that they needed to talk, but he did not know how they could ever spare a moment of privacy. At the door to their chambers, Frigg turned to their guard and dismissed them with a few kind words. As the door closed behind him and between him and Loaren, Thorin felt cold.

0

'You miserable woman!' Thorin, Fili and Kili were on their way back to the royal wing as they heard mindshattering yelling from the chambers.

'That sounded like amad.' Fili stated and made Kili snort.

'Ya think?' Kili stated dryly and followed his uncle down the hall.

Thorin had started to run as soon as he had heard the yelling. Knowing Dis´ and Loaren´s temper, their fights would end in bloodshed one day. As he pushed the door open, he did not believe what he was seeing. Balin stood in the middle of two furious females, pinching the bridge of his nose, while Dwalin and Ori stood at the side with wide eyes, but huge grins on their faces. Dis and Loaren were glaring at each other and Loaren took a menacing step towards the king´s sister.

'Listen, you blonde ROCK!...' Loaren was not wearing a mask, but her expression was murderous.

'Shazaraaa! Silence!' Thorin yelled and managed to predominate the yelling. He was pretty sure that even Bard of Dale had heard that.

Everybody spun around and the guards, as well as Loaren fell onto one knee at their king´s yelling.

Thorin glared at all of them before he spoke. 'What is this about? Have you all gone mad?'

'I do not know, my king, we came to the chambers and found them yelling at each other.' Balin sighed and pointed at Dis and Loaren.

'She treats me without respect, I will not tolerate that!' Dis sneered and looked down at Loaren.

'Why should I show any respect towards someone who does not deserve it?!' Loaren sneered back, but kept her gaze on the floor to Thorin´s feet.

Dis was about to snap, but Thorin stepped forward. 'I said Silence! Both of you!'

Thorin knew that Loaren´s open disrespect towards a member of the royal house needed to be punished, but he knew that Dis had provoked this behaviour from Loaren. He decided to punish Loaren himself.

'Frigg needs your help with the wedding plans, sister.' Thorin told Dis and gave Loaren a sign to stand up. 'And you will follow me to the dungeons, we will talk about your punishment on our way down.'

Thorin could see that Loaren clenched her jaw in fury, but she nodded and followed him out, passing a paling Ori, who seemed to want to speak in her favor, but was held back by Dwalin.

0

None of them spoke a word until they had walked away from the royal chambers for quite some time. Loaren walked beside Thorin and did not look at him, but Thorin could feel how angry she was. On their way to the lower levels, they passed the mines, the forges and the entry to the new treasury. They had just walked past the treasury, as fast little footsteps echoed on the marble floor, following them. It was little Gimli, who was on his way to the treasury to pick up his father from work, but he headed straight for the king.

'Your Majest y, Sir!' he waved his miniature axe which he carried everywhere and pointed it at Thorin as soon as he was in reach. 'I have come to ask for mercy in favor of lady Loaren!'

Little Gimli was panting, but he sounded sincere and the worry in his face was genuine as well. Thorin blinked at the wee fellow and then looked at Loaren, who looked as surprised as he was.

'Gimli, what….?' Loaren started, but Gimli held up his axe and pointed at the king.

'Lady Dis is a mean old lady and she hates lady Loaren. She always starts to fight! Lady Loaren does not deserve punishment!' Gimli tried to sound brave, but the axe in his hands shivered at the next sentence. 'I will fight for the the lady Loaren´s honor if I must.'

Thorin saw Loaren cover her mouth with her hand, stopping an amused gasp and a fighting the urge to hug the little dwarf until he fainted. He himself had to fight the urge to chuckle, but he managed to stay stern.

'You are a brave little fellow, master Gimli.' Thorin said and knelt down in front of Gimli, who was still pointing his axe at him. The little axe was sharp and Thorin was careful that Gimli would not shop off his beard by accident. 'But there is no need to fight for lady Loaren´s honor. There will be no punishment.'

Loaren looked at Thorin with a surprised expression and Gimli also blinked at the news.

'But lady Dis said that you would put her into the dungeons!' Gimli had not lowered his axe.

'She might think that, but that was never my intent.' Thorin told him softly and held up his hands in defeat. 'You can lower your axe now, master Gimli.'

Gimli did as he was told and lokoed up at Thorin with a careful expression. 'You promise?'

'I promise.' Thorin held his hand against his heart and that seemed to calm the little dwarfling down.

'Well then.' Gimli cleared his throat and put his axe back onto his back. 'That´s settled then.'

Gimli gave Loaren a bright smile and ran over to her to hug her legs before he ran to the treasury and disappeared into the dark. Loaren stood in the hall, still petrified and looked after Gimli.

'You seem to have a valiant admirer.' Thorin stated amused and watched Loaren smile at that, but she did not say a word.

They stood in the narrow corridor, side by side, not speaking a word and not looking at each other, until Thorin could not take it anymore.

'Say something.' Thorin asked hoarsely, but Loaren would still not look at him.

'I have nothing to say.' she stated sadly and stubbornly stared at the nearest wall.

Thorin could feel his longing and desperation reach the surface and winced at the way his heart wrenched in his chest. 'But I have to say something.'

These words finally made Loaren look at him and her eyes widened in surprise at his next words.

'Please, forgive me.'


	21. Chapter 21

Loaren looked at Thorin with wide eyes. At first, she was unsure wether she had understood him correctly, but he had said it loud and clear. And now, he was looking at her with a heartbreaking expression, which cracked the icy shell around Loaren´s heart. But as soon as the ice broke away, the hurt and anger broke through with the rest of her emotions.

'Forgive you? For what?' Loaren had to turn away from him, his expression touched her more than she wanted to admit. 'For lying to me about everything? Your feelings for me? Your marriage contract to Frigg? For pushing me away after Bilbo told you that he would stay in the Shire? For not talking to me since that day? For not protecting me against your sister´s wrath? What exactly is it that I shall forgive, Thorin?!'

It was then, when Loaren realized that she was crying and the knowledge about how much Thorin had been able to hurt her made her even more angry, but this time her anger was directed towards herself.

'Maybe it is me, who should apologise.' Loaren straightened her back and turned around to face Thorin. 'I thought that we had a chance. I gave into my feelings for you although I knew that it was wrong. I knew it all along. Even when we left the Shire, I had still hope left. I was stupid and naïve. Two traits unworthy of a mercenary.'

Thorin´s expression had turned from pleading, to hurt and then to stony. He knew that Loaren was right about everything she said, but in his pride he would not have his apology torn to pieces like this. He was the king and he had apologized to someone below him – all of a sudden, Thorin felt disgusted by himself. When had he started to see others as below him? He had been nothing merely two years ago. He had been a dwarf without a home, without his throne and without his crown. He had hated the people who had looked down at him and he had hated to be below them. And now, he treated others the same way. But his disgust strongly supported his hurt pride and his stubbornness and he turned away from Loaren.

'You and your men are relieved from duty for an unlimited time.' Thorin told her and could hear her gasp. 'You will stay inside of the mountain until further order and will not leave.'

'Are we under arrest?' Loaren could not believe it.

'No.' Thorin turned around and gave her a hard look. 'You are to do as your king commands.'

But this time, Loaren would not have it, she stepped forward and sneered right into his face. 'You are not my king.'

Thorin was too shocked by the open rebellion, but then Loaren already took a step back and focused on the ground in front of his feet.

'As you command, Sire.' then she straightened and walked away, leaving Thorin in the dark.

Thorin needed a while to gather his thoughts and calm his mind. He had come here to apologise to her in private, but he had screwed up majestically, as usual. The old Dis would have laughed at him and called him the idiot under the mountain, but that Dis was long gone. Men had taken this sister from him decades ago and now men were responsible for new heartbreak. Or better say women….one woman. Still, Thorin would not hate her – on the contrary, he knew now more than ever that he loved her.

0

'Proud…..stubborn….pigheaded…..idiotic….son….of …a…..b….'Loaren cursed with every blow of her training swords against a wooden puppet on the training ground and felt the wood of her training swords split at her last blow.

'Whoa!' a deep voice startled her. 'Language, there are dwarflings around!'

Loaren turned sharply to find Fili and Kili standing behind her, grinning. Or at least Fili was grinning, Kili looked around searching for something.

'There are no dwarflings here, brother.' He said with a questioning look at Fili.

'I meant you.' Fili remarked with an amused tone and ducked as his brother wanted to slap him.

Loaren rolled her eyes and focused on the puppet again; usually Fili and Kili could cheer her up, but today she was not in the mood. Really not in the mood. But her training was interrupted again by Fili.

'You meant uncle, did you not?' he asked with a grin.

Loaren turned around and glared daggers at him, making him step back a bit. She did not want to talk to anybody and even on the training ground, she had not found peace. With an enraged snarl, she swirled around and threw her training swords at the puppet. One of them splitted into dozens of pieces on impact and the other dug itself deep into the puppets groin, which made Fili and Kili wince loudly.

'Glad that she is not mad at us….' Loaren heard Kili whisper loudly and could not fight back a loud and desperate roar.

In the meantime, Dwalin had tracked down his friend and king and grined as he saw his thunderous expression.

'Put your foot into your mouth again, huh?' he asked and laughed out loud as Thorin glared at him. 'Come now, I have a terrific idea…..we ride to Dale, far away from all this female folk…..and drink.'

0

It was late when Dwalin and Thorin walked out of the Inn in Dale. They had put on regular clothes, nobody had recognized them and they had had a long night with songs, talks and lots of ale. It had been Dwalin though, who had talked about him and Ori and Thorin felt as if his ears had started to bleed. He had gotten to know things about the young scribe that he had never wanted to know. Dwalin had asked him what had happened between him and Loaren and told him something about a poor training puppet and his traumatized nephews, but Thorin had not wanted to listen. Now, they were on their way home and Thorin slowly walked to his pony – but which one was it? He saw two ponies, actually four when he counted Dwalin´s ponies. Did they ride to Dale with four ponies? And why were they looking so similar?

Dwalin chuckled as he watched Thorin grab the air until he had the reigns in his hand and already looked forward to their way home. At least the ponies were sober and knew the way home. With rising amusement, he saw Thorin mount his pony and majestically falling down the other side of the saddle. Grumbling into his beard, Thorin managed to mount the beast a while later and they made way back to the mountain. The night air was refreshing and on half the way, Thorin looked better and his eyes focused on the gate. Dwalin took their last moments in private and asked what he had wanted to ask for the whole night.

'Now, when will you stop being a dwarfling and tell Loaren that you love her?'

The guards of Erebor tried to keep a straight face as a dwarf who looked very much like their king and another bald dwarf who looked a lot like the captain of the guard tumbled through the gate in a ball of beards, fists and feet.

0

Loaren´s second in command found her buried under a pile of blankets and a bucket beside her bed in the next morning. He spotted a big mug of mead on the side table and frowned as he saw that it was empty. The older man knew Loaren for a long time and he knew that she could not stand her licor and that she never drank. Of course, he had noticed that there was tension between her and the king, but he had not realized that things had developed that badly. But he had trained Loaren since she had joined the Immortals and he would not tolerate such an undisciplined behaviour from any of his men, not even their leader. He shattered the mug against the wall and made Loaren jump, waking up and pointing a dagger at him.

'At least you did not forget everything.' he mumbled angrily.

'How dare you?' Loaren looked furious at first, but then she started to look sick and threw up into the bucket.

'Forgive me, but I am not the one who behaves like an undisciplined teen.' he dressed her down and looked down at her with raised eyebrows. 'The men are talking, they do not understand why they are relieved from duty and are not allowed to leave the mountain. And instead of informing them yourself and explain it to them, you hide in your rooms like a coward and drink yourself into oblivion.'

He yelled the last part and Loaren winced at the tone. She was the leader of the Immortals, but Temuera had been her mentor and he had been her right hand for so long. He had been with the Immortals longer than her and she respected him highly. The reproach in his voice hurt and she hated herself even more. But Temuera was not finished.

'I have known you a long time, but never have you behaved like the spoiled and rotten princess we all thought you were when you came to us. Never have you drowned in selfpity and never did you neglect your men.' Temuera looked down sadly. 'Do not let them see you this way.'

He threw her clothes onto her bed and recoiled from her room. But at the door, he turned around and his expression was fatherly.

'No man is worth this pain, Ren. Especially not that dwarf.'

When he had left, Loaren felt her tears running down freely.

'Yes, he is.'

0

Thorin woke up in his bed, but with his head hanging down the foot of the bed and his head was killing him. With a loud grunt, he sat up and crawled to the head of the bed, where a jar of water and a few herbs were already waiting. Thorin was about to grab the jar, as the door to his rooms flew open with a loud bang and Frigg rushed in. Thorin rolled his eyes at the sight; he was in no mood for his overly merry wife to be – but he did not see that Frigg was not being merry at all and she did not even smile. When she arrived at the bed, she took the jar of water away from him and frowned at him with a dark expression.

'You!' Frigg pointed her her betrothed, who looked at her perplex and with wide eyes. 'We need to talk!'

For the first time in his life Thorin understood why this particular sentence frightened the living daylight of his fellow dwarven kin. The look in Frigg´s eyes and the tone of her voice were threatening and suddenly he wished that she would be the carefree, nervewracking and merry dwarf lady again.

'I may not be very bright, but I am not stupid!' Frigg started and Thorin had to bite his tongue to not say anything stupid about that fact himself. 'Do you honestly think that I have not noticed what is going on between you and Ren? Do not give me that look, do you honestly think me that thick? Do not dare answer that!'

Thorin was about to answer that one, but Frigg´s threatening finger came closer to his face.

'I did not want to marry you….an old king of the line of Durin, who would never smile and never lose a nice word to anyone. But then I saw you in Ered Luin and you were so different from what I expected. You are handsome and strong and I immediately felt drawn to you. You and your stupid good looks – oh, do not look that smug – looks are not everything! And I want a husband whom I can rely on and who will not hurt me like you hurt Loaren!' Thorin froze at her words. 'I do not know what developed between you two, but she loves you, I can see it in her eyes. I thought that you loved her, too, but I cannot imagine how someone can hurt somebody he loves so much as you did.'

Thorin fought for words, but he had none. Frigg was so right that he could not even think about anything else, but she was not finished.

'At first, when Dis told me about the witch of men who had ensnared her brother, I hated her. But then I saw her and how she acted around all of us. She stayed away from you and was nothing but respectful towards me and even Dis, although Dis never acknowledged it. Her loyalty and her kindness were stronger than Dis´ words spoken in ignorance and I needed to know more. Although I had never imagined to find a friend in the woman to whom my future husband´s heart belonged, I found one. She was at my side when I came here to my new home, she was a support when I felt homesick and she supported me when I felt too stupid to cope with all of my duties as a future queen. I never expected anything from you, since our marriage was forced upon you as well, but I would have appreciated a bit of understanding and respect from your side, even if I am too young and too naïve to deserve it. Our marriage will never be a happy one, but all I regret at the moment is the fact that I have not been a support for Loaren as she was a friend to me.'

With these words, Frigg left the room and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Thorin paralyzed and in pain. He had never expected those words from Frigg of all people and he felt a high level of respect and gratitude for her open words. It shocked him that even Frigg seemed to be more wise and grown up than he felt at the moment. But suddenly, he knew what to do.

0

Loaren had taken her mentor´s words at heart and walked to the stables to speak to her men. She told them that there had been a minor misunderstanding between her and the king´s sister and her men did not seem surprised. She told them to take care of the horses and their equipment as long as they were relieved from duty and that she would try to solve everything with Dwalin, for she did not want to talk to Thorin ever again. Loaren did not meet Temuera´s glance once, for she was still too ashamed. On her way to Dwalin´s office, she met Ori, who walked the way with her. They had not spoken for a long time and Loaren realized how much she had missed him and Dori. But Ori did not meet with her on accident.

'Dwalin told me that he wishes to speak with you on the western balcony.' Ori told Loaren and tried to hide his grin behind a huge book. 'It´s on the thirteenth floor, you can take the stairway over there.'

Ori smirked as he saw Loaren wince at the stairway. Dori, Dwalin, Balin and him had chosen that balcony, because it was far away from everyone else and the door could be blocked easily. Now, he only hoped that Dwalin managed to lure Thorin there as well. With a smile, Ori rubbed his hands together and hummed quietly on his way back to the library.

Loaren was short of breath as she arrived at the western balcony. She hated stairs and she would never get used to them. But it was the sight which finally took her breath away; the balcony headed West, towards the mountains and the sun warmed her cold skin. For a moment, Loaren relaxed and allowed herself to rest in the sun, until she heard a noise behind her.

'Master Dwalin, you wanted to speak…..' Loaren froze as Thorin came marching through the entrance of the balcony.

When Thorin saw Loaren, he stopped dead in his tracks.

'Where is Dwalin?' both asked the other at the same time.

'That bastard!' Thorin realized what Dwalin had been up to first.

'This sneeky little scribe…' Loaren cursed quietly.

'We should leave…' both said in union again, but they were interrupted by a rumble and huffed voices from the entrance.

'Watch it, only the entrance, not the whole mountain….'

'I am working on it, you….'

'Hurry, they are coming back!'

'What in the name of Mordor….' Thorin managed before the entrance to the inside of the mountain collapsed and trapped them outside of the mountain.

'What just happened?' Loaren could not believe it, she was trapped outside of the mountain with that insufferable dwarf.

'It seems as if my kin has lost their mind…' Thorin muttered and tried to push away the stone blocking the doorway, but nothing moved.

'Is there no other way into the mountain?' Loaren wanted to know and lost all hope as Thorin shook his head. 'That means we are stuck out here?'

Thorin nodded grimly and leaned back against the wall behind him. Balin had lured him to the balcony, saying that Dwalin had to show him something important. Thorin had been wondering what could be so important, but he had trusted his old advisor and had gone to meet Dwailn; just that it had not been Dwalin. He watched Loaren as she sat down on the other side of the balcony, watching him with a frown and then turning her gaze away. He knew that his kin would not let either of them in again before they had not talked everything out, but seeing the rejection in Loaren´s eyes, he knew that they would probably die out there.


	22. Chapter 22

Thorin had planned to speak to Loaren again, but not trapped on the outside of Erebor and not under such circumstances. At least the weather seemed fine, the sun was shining and the wind was warm, he knew how much Loaren hated the cold. Loaren sat across him and on a place as far away as possible, watching him with a frown.

'This was not my idea.' Thorin tried to explain the situation.

'Of course not.' Loaren sneered back and her expression turned bitter.

'But apparently, the others think that we should talk.' Thorin tried again, but he felt stupid at the attempt of making things right.

'The others should worry about their own lives.' Loaren pressed her lips together and turned away from Thorin. 'There is nothing to talk about anymore.'

Thorin felt a cold fist close around his heart and his breath was cut short. He wanted to settle things with Loaren, but she would have to want that as well. One thing was for sure, they would not be able to speak out here. With a sigh, Thorin turned towards the collapsed entrance and looked at the stone.

'Will you be able to move them?' Thorin jumped as Loaren´s voice sounded from his side. She did not look at him, but at the stones blocking their only way into the mountain.

'I do not know.' Thorin mused and looked at a rock which seemed to hold the others in place. 'This one does not look that heavy, if I push as hard as I can, maybe it will roll back and free the door.'

Loaren crossed her arms and watched as Thorin bowed down, adjusted his feet to have a stable stand and flexed his muscles. She could actually see his arm, shoulder and back muscles flex through his shirt and rolled her eyes at her own stare. Cursing herself, Loaren concentrated on the rock Thorin was trying to push away. The dwarf king bent down and hurled himself at the rock.

'What are you waiting for? Are you pushing already?' Loaren asked as nothing happened.

'I am pushing.' Thorin forced out between holding his breath to push away the rock and almost made Loaren laugh, for the rock was not moving one little bit.

'Well then….' Loaren walked back and sat down on a rock in the sun.

'You could help, you know?' Thorin turned around and glared at her.

'Yes, sure, do I look as if I could move a rock?' Loaren asked dryly. 'Ask your sister, she´ll remove it by giving it a headbutt.'

Thorin had to smirk at that remark, he was sure that Loaren was right about that. But it had no use, the entrance could only be freed from the inside and by a troop of miners with tools, until then, they would have to wait. Thorin was already sweating in his kingly attire and the sun burned down on them without mercy. He took of his crown and his coat and sat down at the wall of the mountain, which radiated some cool. Watching Loaren, he realized that she was even wearing her armor and did not seem to sweat at all although she was sitting in the sun.

'Are you not feeling hot?' he asked after a while. If they would not talk about their situation they might as well talk about the weather.

'No.' Loaren answered and continued ignoring him. But she had closed her eyes and leaned her head backwards and Thorin could not help but think how beautiful she was.

'Stop looking at me.' Loaren suddenly told him, although she still had her eyes closed.

'I am not looking at you.' Thorin answered too quickly and made Loaren smirk.

'Your queen is the only female at whom you should look for the rest of your life.' Loaren reminded him. 'This should not be difficult, a mere jewel as she is.'

There was no bitterness in Loaren´s voice and Thorin could tell that she meant what she said. Frigg was a rare beauty for dwarven standards, but Thorin had never cared, for his mind and heart had already been taken by Loaren. But still, Thorin would not tell her that.

'You like Frigg very much, do you?' Thorin asked instead and watched Loaren smile.

'Why should I not? She is one of the nicest dwarves I have ever met, kind hearted, polite and gentle. How very unusual for a dwarf.' there was a bitterness in her voice now that made Thorin flinch.

At first, Thorin wanted to protest and defend his kin against the accusation of being cold hearted and rude, but then he realized that Loaren had every right to think so. He had to talk to her about what had happened and he had to do it now, before the sun would fry his brain. He took of his heavy tunic with the mithril collar and walked out into the sun in his light undertunic, pants and boots. Loaren ignored him until he stood in front of her, throwing a shadow over her.

'Go away from the sun.' Loaren opened one eye and glared at Thorin.

'We need to talk.' Thorin did not move.

'I already told you that there is nothing to talk about.' Loaren sneered and stood up to walk past Thorin, but this time he gently grabbed her arm and held on to her.

'I am a very proud dwarf.' Thorin began and rolled his eyes at Loaren´s snort. 'I have tried to apologise to you for many times now and I do not know how many more rejections I can take.'

'Oh, you do not know?' Loaren pulled her arms from his hand and glared at him. 'I know how many rejections I can take and they have been far overstepped.'

'I never rejected you…' Thorin wanted to speak up, but Loaren interrupted him.

'You rejected me from the start!' now she was furious. 'You rejected me in the Shire, when Bilbo left us, you rejected me in Ered Luin when Dis attacked me and you stood by and did nothing. You rejected me when you had lied to me about your feelings for me and the fact that you were promised to someone else and you rejected me when we came back here. And instead of giving me free and sending me back to the East, you keep me close to torture me by forcing me to stay in your service. The only rejection I wish for, is for you to reject the service of me and my men and send us away.'

Thorin frowned at her words, for he had not realized how unhappy she was in Erebor. Of course he knew that she was sad about what he had done, but he had thought that she had found friends in Frigg, Gimli and Hild and that she felt at ease around them. He had never thought that she missed her home that much and the life that awaited her there.

'You are unhappy here….' Thorin mumbled more to himself, but Loaren´s frown deepened.

'Are you expecting me to be happy? Every day, I wake up in this dark mountain, having to spend all day with the one who will spend the rest of her life at your side. I see her unhappy and you are unhappy as well. But still, there is nothing else to do than stand at the side of the throne or in front of the royal chambers and wait.' Loaren felt the pain and anger rush over her like a powerful wave. 'I sent my men to the Shire as messengers, for I do not want to see that place ever again. I do not want those memories, I do not want to see that confounded tree or meet the hobbits who would ask me about my husband. I do not want any of this.'

Thorin looked at her and moved in front of her to watch her face. 'Do you regret what has happened in the Shire?'

'Yes.' Loaren´s answer came quickly. 'I regret it all.'

Although Thorin had expected that answer, the truth hurt more than he had ever imagined and apparently it showed, because Loaren frowned as she looked at his face.

'Do not tell me that this surprises you.' Loaren stated bitterly.

For a moment, Thorin was at a loss for words, but he knew that he had to say something or he would lose her forever.

'I do not regret one single day.' Thorin held up his hand as Loaren took a breath to probably curse him. 'I do regret that I had not informed you about my engagement and I regret for behaving like the biggest moron under the mountain – or better say Bag End. I regret that I cherish the memory of our days in the Shire while I made you wish that it never happened. I regret having hurt you like this and I regret that I have lost you due to my own doing. I regret all of this, but never us.'

0

'Can you hear anything?' Ori whispered behind Nori, who stood at the blocked entrance to the balcony, with a glass pressed up against the stone.

'Yes, I heard someone whisper "can you hear anything?"' Nori stated dryly and gave up. 'It has no use, the stone blocks every sound.'

'Or they are not talking.' Dori mused.

'They better talk, I have not made this entrance cave in for nothing.' Bofur stood beside them with a hammer in his hand.

'We cannot leave them out there all day.' Balin shook his head. 'It is summer and the sun burns down on that side of the mountain. There is no shade on that side and they have no water.'

'So?' Dwalin crossed his arms in front of his chest. 'Maybe the sun will burn some sense into them.'

'I will need half a day to work the entrance free again.' Bofor told them.

'And who will sit in council today?' Balin asked and tugged at his beard. 'There is a matter of diplomatic relations between Erebor and Mirkwood which needs to be settled and the ambassador will feel degraded if not Thorin or a member of the royal household shows up. And I would rather not send lady Dis.'

'We will take over the council.' the dwarves jumped as Fili and Frigg appeared behind them. 'Kili is in Dale with amad and keeps her away from uncle, the Immortals and the elves.

Balin looked at the young prince and the even younger princess. 'Are you sure?'

'I have watched Thorin in council for the last moon, I will manage.' Frigg looked nervous, but determined. 'I have Fili at my side and Loaren has told me a few things about diplomacy as well. We will manage.'

With a last nod, Fili and Frigg left again and left the other dwarves back in the dark corridor.

'Wait a moment….did the future queen just appear and helped us to force her future husband to talk to his….the other woman?' Bofur looked after Frigg in shock.

Balin and Dwalin looked as shocked as Bofur was and the Ri brothers burst into smiles.

'Maybe there is still hope left.' Ori clapped his hands and made everyone jump as it echoed from the narrow walls. 'Come now, master Bofur, get cracking, we need that wall down!'

'When did he become the leader of the group?' Nori asked his older brother, who only shrugged his shoulders.

0

'They want to roast us into talking.' Thorin grumbled and took of his last shirt and his boots. 'He felt as if his feet were slowly cooked and his head was about to explode from the heat.

Loaren wanted to protest, but had to bite her lip as she looked at the king dressed only in his trousers.

'You cannot be serious, put your clothes back on!' Loaren covered her eyes. 'You are a blacksmith, you work in the forges all the time and now you complain about the sun?'

'I work in the forges without my shirt on and I keep on the boots for protection.' Thorin defended himself. 'It´s not a big deal, woman.'

Loaren could not help but snort. She had seen many men without their shirts on, most of her Immortals were men, but Thorin was simply breath taking. Loaren scolded herself for behaving like a teen, but she had to look at the broad shoulders, the hairy chest, the strong arms and the abs…with a growl, Loaren turned around and stubbornly stared towards Dale.

This was how Thorin´s kin found them some moments later; Loaren was standing with her arms crossed over her chest and ignoring Thorin and Thorin was sitting at the side of the mountain with his shirt over his face, mumbling about the heat.

'It was about time!' Thorin sneered and glared daggers at Dwalin. 'What in Mahal´s name were you thinking?'

Dwalin looked him up and down with a smirk and then stepped aside as Loaren stormed past them and into the mountain.

'You tried everything, did ya?' Dwalin grinned as Thorin stepped back into his boots and his shirt and tunic before he followed Loaren into the cool mountain.

Dwalin chuckled and then turned to Dori and Ori. 'Do you remember that day in the Shire when they slept in the guestroom together and we heard her laugh? It seems that our king cannot solve any problems by taking his shirt off anymore.'

While Balin, Bofur and Nori tried to not imagine what had happened in the Shire, the other dwarves smiled in memory.

0

Loaren was back in her room to change, as a quiet knock made her sigh. As she opened the door, Frigg was standing in front of her with a mug of cold water, smiling.

'I thought that you might be thirsty.' she smirked as Loaren drank half of the water and purred the rest of it over her head. 'These walls are old and crumble easily, such a shame.'

'Yes, the unstable walls.' Loaren remarked dryly and wondered wether Frigg had known about this or not.

'I hope that the king did not miss any important council meeting?' Loaren tried to change the subject.

'Well, yes he did, but Fili and I filled in for him. The elf from Mirkwood seemed content by not having to run the meeting with Thorin glaring at him all the time.' Frigg told her with a smirk.

'I can imagine.' Loaren gave her back the mug. 'Thank you, my queen. But maybe you should be with your king right now, the heat out there was harder on him than on me.'

'The king can get his own water.' Frigg stated and made Loaren look at her in surprise. As Frigg closed the door behind her, Loaren suddenly felt trapped.

'Listen, Ren.' Frigg held up her hand to signalize that she did not want to be interrupted. 'I know that many dwarves in Erebor think of me as a stupid, young and naïve childqueen. I may not be highly intelligent and yes, I am young and also naïve, but I watch people carefully and draw conclusions. I knew from the start that Thorin never wanted to marry me, but there was this contract that bonded the royal house of Durin to Ered Luin. Thorin holds his honor and his word above everything else, so much I know of him. There is only one thing he would cherish more and that is love. The only thing standing in the way of love is his stubbornness. Do you really wonder why so many dwarves stay alone all their life? That is why.'

Loaren smiled at the snarky remark about dwarven stubbornness.

'I can see that he loves you and I also see that you love him, despite of how he has treated you in the past. Sometimes the heart wants what it wants.' Frigg smiled as Loaren looked at her with a guilty expression. 'I also know that neither of you would betray me. When Thorin and I will be married, he will stay away from you and you never tried to be near him as soon as you knew that he was supposed to get married. Both of you have acted honorably, against your heart´s desires. But there is no reason to hold on to this nonsense. Thorin does not love me and I do not love him. Granted, he is incredibly attractive and have you seen him shirtless by any chance?'

Frigg had to laugh at Loaren´s sigh.

'But he is a grumpy and old dwarf and I do not want to spend the rest of my life with a dwarf who is the exact opposite of me.' Frigg sat down on a wooden bench and Loaren realized that she was being a bad host. She filled two cups with tea and handed one to Frigg. 'And you know who also looks good without a shirt? Fili.'

Frigg started laughing as Loaren spit out her tea and started coughing violently.

'I am sorry, what?' Loaren tried to get some air. 'Fili? You – like Fili?'

'Yes! He is so good looking and brave and smart and – he is so nice. He never treated me as if I was plain stupid.' Frigg sighed. 'His mother is a hard piece of work, but she likes me.'

Frigg looked at Loaren with a guilty expression, which made Loaren smile.

'You have not said much.' Frigg stated and looked at Loaren expectantly.

'To be honest, I do not know what to say…' Loaren was still coughing. 'I….this is…..this has no use. You might get out of your engagement with Thorin and marry Fili instead, but Thorin will never settle for me. He is the king, he will not chose a consort of men, nor a mercenary and least of all me. Dis will make my life miserable and I do not know wether I can take it. There is no chance for me and Thorin.'

Frigg nodded in understanding, but she still was determined. 'There is a chance for happiness for both of us. I already have a plan….what do you say?'


	23. Chapter 23

**I am so sorry that it took so long :((( Enjoy!**

'A plan, huh?' Loaren cocked an eyebrow at Frigg.

'Well, it's not really a plan, it's more about letting things fall into place.' Frigg grinned. 'Fili looked at the contract between the dwarves of Erebor and Ered Luin, it does not say which dwarf of the line of Durin it shall be, only a dwarf of the said line. Means that Fili and I can get married. You on the other hand, you should stay low key. Pass Thorin's path once in a while - without the mask please - smile at him, talk to him about general things...but do not give him special attention. He will come to you sooner than you will think.'

Loaren shook her head in amusement about Frigg's almost wolfish grin. Suddenly, the princess did not seem so plain anymore.

'You would have been a terrific queen.' Loaren sighed. 'I hope that you will be a terrific queen, but at Fili's side.'

'Someday, I will...thank you.' Frigg smiled at her friend. 'By the by...do you still have these pair of tight trousers of yours? We will go to throne room now. Maybe wear these.'

0

'Uncle?' Fili peeked through the door to Thorin´s chambers. 'Are you here?'

'Where should I be?' came a muffled snort from the bed.

Blinking, Fili stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Thorin was sprawled over his bed, a cool sloth over his face and naked but for a loincloth. Fili could not help but chuckle and he could see Thorin´s frown through the cloth.

'I fail to see what´s so amusing, nephew.' Thorin grumbled, but he was so tired that he would not even lift the cloth to throw it at Fili. 'What do you want?'

'I brought you some water.' Fili sat down at the edge of the bed and put down the mug.

'I had expected Frigg to bring me some water…' Thorin sighed and sat up slowly. 'But I guess I have not deserved it.'

'You admit that you did something wrong?' Fili cocked an eyebrow at his uncle.

'I admit that I behaved badly towards my future wife, yes.' Thorin growled and frowned as he saw Fili´s expression. 'What?'

'Although I agree with you on that….' Fili just hoped that Thorin would not throw the mug at him. '…I think that you should be more worried about how you treated Loaren.'

'I tried to apologise to her….various times!' Thorin threw his arms in the air. 'That stubborn woman never accepts them!'

'When did you try to apologise?' Fili asked.

'On the road….then when we walked to the dungeons after the fight with your mother….then now!' Thorin laid back onto the bed and moved the cloth back over his face. 'Three times!'

'On the road and by the dungeons…how romantic.' Fili remarked with a smirk. 'And you really ask yourself why she would not accept your apology? Maybe next time, try not to do something that needs an apology?'

'That would be too easy.' Thorin replied after a while.

'You have to do something, uncle.' Fili sighed. 'Frigg is not happy with you and you are not happy with her. She will not be a good queen to you.'

'Frigg…why are we now talking about….?' Thorin lifted the wet cloth and peaked at his nephew, who had blushed whilst talking. 'Kings and queens are not supposed to be happy in their arranged marriages. And I do not need an heir, I already have an heir who is sitting by my bed and tries to talk some sense into an old dwarf like me.'

'You are my uncle, I want you to be happy.' Fili filled a cup with some water. 'I can see how happy Kili is with that elf….'

'Your brother is not happy with her, their relationship is something new, exciting and shallow. It will not last.' Thorin grumbled. 'Both will realise it after some time. The latest after Dis gets a hand on that elf, the elf will bail. Loaren did not leave, despite my dragon sister.'

Fili almost fell from the bed as Thorin sat up with one swift move which made his back crack.

'Mahal, I am too old for this.' Thorin grumbled as he took the cup of water from Fili and gulped it down in one move. He took the mug with the rest of the water and purred it over his head. 'I have to talk to Loaren….and Frigg…..and Dis…now I only want to stay in bed and never come out again.'

Fili chuckled as Thorin moved to the door. 'Uncle? What about Frigg? There is a contract…..and for Mahal´s sake, please put on some clothes!'

0

Fili sat down on the bed again after his uncle had left. He had wanted to talk about something else at first, but he had not been sure how to touch the delicate subject. Frigg and Fili had been successful at council today, he had handled the topics well and Frigg had managed to calm down the council members with her gentle nature. They had made a good team and Fili had to admit that he really liked her. Kili liked Frigg as well, but he only saw the beautiful dwarf and not the dwarf behind the looks. Fili liked everything about her, her loving character, her gentle nature, her big heart – she was a lot like his mother was when he was a small dwarfling, until she had passed that village of men and everything changed. Many years later, Dis had told Fili what had happened in that village. They had lived in Ered Luin for a few months as Dis had left the mountain to trade some of their remaining silver ware for food. She had gone alone, for the villages of men around the mountain seemed to be peaceful. In the last village, some men had shown interest in her silver ware, but their true interest had been of a darker nature. Although Dis was a fierce and strong dwarf, they had overpowered her and had kept her locked up in an old mill for days. The things they had done to her brought tears of rage and despair into Fili´s eyes until the present day. After that, they had set her free, laughing at her pain and not even worrying about a punishment, for who would believe a filthy dwarf if she dared to speak out about what happened. Dis had managed to hide her condition when she had returned to the mountain, she only told Thorin and her husband about what had happened to her in that village. Both dwarves were furious at first and only pleading and crying from Dis´ side had stopped them from overrunning the village with the remaining soldiers they had. A few weeks later, the problem had been solved. The village had been overrun by orcs and every man, woman and child had been slaughtered. While the men in the neighbouring villages mourned, Dis and her family felt relief beyond reason. That was, until Dis found out that she was pregnant and that her husband could not be the father. She had hated the men so much and her pregnancy had made her bitter. Since she could not tell anybody what had happened to her in that village, the other dwarves had congratulated her and her husband on the pregnancy and she could not get rid of the little one, since it was a sacrilege to kill a gift from Mahal. Dis cursed that supposed gift and cried for weeks, while Thorin and her husband told the other dwarves that the pregnancy made her stay in bed. Dis stayed in bed for the whole pregnancy and only her love for her family made her cling to life. But when the little one had been born, Dis had fallen in love with the huge brown eyes and the dwarven look of the little one immediately, as did all other family members. Until today, nobody knew of their little secret.

0

Thorin was halfway to Frigg´s room as he stopped abruptly. He had the feeling that Fili had tried to tell him something and that it had nothing to do with his relationships to either Frigg or Loaren, but he could not put a finger on it.

'Thorin!' Dwalin called out to his friend as he saw him stand in the hallway without motion. 'Is everything alright?'

Thorin did not react and Dwalin began to worry. He walked up to him and made him jump as he touched his shoulder.

'Sweet Mahal, do not sneek up on me like that!' Thorin snarled at his friend.

'I did not sneek up on you.' Dwalin watched him in amusement. 'I stomped here like an Oliphant and I called out to you various times. You were in a whole different place.'

'Hmm….' Thorin slowly began to walk to the throne room again. 'I was….but I cannot worry about this right now, I need to yell at the ambassador of Mirkwood.'

'Fili and Frigg took care of the negociations while you were…..out.' Dwalin informed him with a smirk.

'I beg your pardon?' Thorin looked at his friend in surprise. 'Frigg was there?'

'Yes, she was a fine support for your nephew. There are a good team, the negociations went smoothly and quickly, the elves seem to like her.' Dwalin snorted as he saw Thorin´s surprised expression. 'Well, everyone likes her, except you.'

'She is…..a fine dwarf.' Thorin said reluctantly. 'But you are not the one who will be forced to marry her and spend the rest of your life with her.'

'Well, you´re old, the rest of your life is not that long anymore…Ouch!' Dwalin did not duck fast enough.

'The thought of spending every day with her and also…..sharing my bed with her makes me feel…..' Thorin was at a loss for words. '….trapped. Even when I was really trapped with Loaren I did not feel that way.'

Dwalin smiled faintly and continued walking beside his friend. 'What will you do now?'

'There is nothing I can do. I love the woman, I have to marry Frigg and someday Dis will drive me insane.' Thorin sighed. 'Now I know why Mahal only created too little females, he was not strong enough to handle many of them.'

Dwalin grinned at that and followed his friend to the royal hall. 'Ya, that´s why I never bonded myself to one.'

'Yes, of course.' Thorin grinned and remembered how good his friend was in repelling females despite of his good looks. Ori was the first dwarf of any gender who showed honest interest in Dwalin.

'Oh, by the way….I think I should inform you that the ambassador of Mirkwood came with some guards, including Kili´s red hair.' Dwalin frowned.

'Really?' Thorin thought about to sick Dis on Tauriel to keep his sister´s wrath from himself and Loaren, but he was not a monster. He would let Dis find out for herself.

As Thorin and Dwalin entered the throne room, the drama was about to start. Dis sat on the throne in Thorin´s absence like she had done in Ered Luin and glared at the elven ambassador, Kili stood at her side and avoided Tauriel´s gaze, Tauriel tried to catch Kili´s gaze and made Dis suspicious and the elven ambassador looked as if he wanted to be in Mordor rather than in Erebor. Balin stood at the throne´s right side and seemed highly amused.

'Oh no…..' Thorin sighed as he saw Dis look from Tauriel to Kili.

As if the situation was not dangerous enough, Frigg entered the room with two immortals, one of them Loaren. Dis stood up from the throne and walked past Frigg, of course not without giving Loaren a nudge with her shoulder. Loaren was about to turn and give her a piece of her mind, but Frigg was faster. She gently stopped her future sister in law and warmly smiled at her.

'My dear Dis, I know that you are not happy about my future husband´s attraction to my personal guard, but in your place I would be more worried about your possible future daughter in law.' Frigg winked at her and then looked at Tauriel.

Dis did not see it at first and Loaren was about to make a comment about Durin´s and their quick powers of comprehension as Dis gasped loudly. Kili and Tauriel looked caught and the ambassador looked as if he would faint any moment.

'Well, I will take my leave.' the elf said to Thorin and nodded at Frigg and Balin. He was out of the room in the blink of an eye and no elf bothered to take Tauriel with them. The red hair stood in the throne room and tried to keep a calm bearing under Dis´ glare.

'The only thing worse than a human in my family is an elf in my family!' Dis roared and turned to Kili. 'How dare you?'

'I love her, amad, she saved my life!' Kili tried to defend himself.

'If I would fall in love with everyone who saved my life….' Dis shook her head. 'This elf is not worth your love, I know it.'

Dis took a threatening step towards Tauriel, who backed away from Kili. 'You. I heard many things about you. You are illoyal and a coward. You wished for love to be taken from you when you felt the pain it brings. My son was dying and you wished to have never known love because it hurt you too much. Even that one showed more bravery than you!'

Dis pointed at Loaren and ignored her surprised look. 'I made her life miserable for months now, I threatened her, I ignored her and I showed her more disrespect than any other person I have ever known. Still, she stayed and is not only loyal and true, but she stands by our side like a rock. You on the other hand would not even stand beside my son whilst I yell at you. You will run as soon as you get the chance. Now tell me – will you stay at my son´s side? I am his mother, you will see me every day and I will be a part of your lives. Do you love him enough to handle that?'

Kili looked at his mother with big eyes, as well as Loaren. She had never expected Dis to acknowledge anything positive about her, but apparently, she had been wrong. But Tauriel seemed reluctant to stand her ground.

'Kili…..' Tauriel whispered and looked at the dwarf. 'I am sorry, but I…I have to leave.'

Kili took a while to realise that Tauriel was indeed running, but he hoped that it was just the initial shock.

'My love…' Kili took Tauriel´s hand. 'I do not care what my mother thinks about you. I love you and that is all that counts.'

But Tauriel did not look as sure about them as he did. The doubt was obvious on her face and Loaren could see what Dis was seeing – and to her horror, she had to agree with Dis, that the elf was not true in her love to Thorin´s nephew. But this was not the right place for intimate discussions.

'We should speak about this another time and place.' Frigg looked at Thorin and tried to pull him out of his stupor. 'My king?'

'Yes, of course….' Thorin was still trying to process what had happened. Dis had openly spoken about Loaren´s love to him, Frigg seemed fine with that and his youngest nephew was ankle deep in problems. 'We should….leave….and you should….' he pointed at Kili and Tauriel. '….settle things. I know a perfectly fine place at the mountain side with a nice view.'

0

Thorin found himself back in the royal quarters with Dis, Frigg and Loaren. Dwalin and Balin, as well as the other Immortal were outside guarding the door and of course eavesdropping. That was how Fili found them.

'What happened, why are you all standing with your ears pressed to the door?' Fili asked in amusement.

'I do not even know how to explain this…..' Balin sighed.

'In you go, laddie.' Dwalin took Fili´s arm and opened the door to shove him into the room. 'Have fun!'

Fili found himself nose to nose with Frigg on the other side of the door and was at a loss for words as he looked into her deep blue eyes. As she smiled at him, the world around him faded into oblivion.

'Thank Mahal, one dwarf of my family still has some sense left.' Dis remarked dryly, while Loaren smiled and Thorin looked at his nephew with wide eyes. Then he slapped his hand to his forehead.

'There it is.' Dis and Loaren said in union.


	24. Chapter 24

**Again, so sorry dor the long wait! :(**

 **There is so much going on lately, I barely find the energy to write, BUT I will continue and end this story. I promise.**

 **Enjoy!**

'So.' Dwalin sighed. 'Frigg will marry a dwarf from the royal line of Durin, just….well, a young one.'

Thorin shot him a glare, but had to smirk at the same time.

'And Dis – your dragon sister, Dis – actually stood up for Loaren. Even if it was against that red hair who nobody could stand anyway….'

Kili twitched in his seat, but reality had caught up with him lately. Tauriel had not fought for their love, she had left the mountain in a hurry, not even looking back. Her betrayal had hurt him deeply and all he wanted was to forget. Now, he was sitting in the royal chambers with his uncle and Dwalin, drinking ale, just that he was already drunk while the older dwarves seemed almost unaffected by the strong fluid. He had always been more affected by the strong dwarven ales, but he had thought nothing of it, he had thought it to be his youth. But now, he was almost an adult dwarf and he still could not hold his liquor. This fact depressed him even more.

'And you are still sitting here with us instead of crawling back to the woman on your knees?' Dwalin looked at Thorin over his mug of ale.

'I will not crawl back to her. I never had her.' Thorin replied and Dwalin chocked on his ale.

'Wait! No "I am the king, I do not crawl" or "I am the king, I do not get onto my knees but for one very special situation"…..'

'Too much information!' Kili yelled and covered his ears.

'He meant a wedding proposal, what did you think – oh….get your thoughts out of the gutter!' Thorin scolded his nephew. 'Loaren is with Frigg at the moment, they are having what men call a "girl´s night". No clue what that is.'

0

'I wish Dis was here.' Loaren commented, but as soon as the sentence was out, she burst into laughter together with Frigg, Hild, Gimli, Gouna, Kira and Nala.

'It would be a perfect world if the king´s sister would remove the stick out of her….' Gouna muttered.

'I beg you not to finish that sentence!' Frigg half laughed half cried out and Hild covered Gimli's ears. 'She must have gone through a lot, Balin said something about her being a warmhearted dwarf back in her youth. What must have happened to turn her into such a dragon…..but enough of that. We have reason to celebrate! Our lives will turn to the better! I will marry my golden dwarf and Loaren will….well, hopefully get a grip and go to the grumpy one after we are finished celebrating!'

Frigg and the other females laughed at that, but Loaren blushed and tried to ignore the butterflies in her belly. Thorin and her had exchanged looks and smiles during the last days, but both had been bound to their duties and had not talked to each other. The Immortals were back to duty and the mountain was slowly returning to the daily routine. Nevertheless, Loaren thought of the king all day and was happy that the mask covered her blushes when she thought about their kisses and touches in the Shire. She was still angry about the way he had treated her after they had left the Shire, but she knew that one of them had to make the first step. Thorin had already tried to apologise in his own dwarvish and awkward way and Loaren knew him well enough to know how hard it must had been for him to acknowledge that he had been a jerk.

'Why don't you go and see him?' Frigg asked Loaren. 'I am sure that he will be happy to see you and...well, you know – sort things out.'

Frigg wiggled with her eyes while she said it and Hild covered Gimli's eyes with one of her hands.

'Whose idea was it to bring the little dwarf to a ladie's night?' Gouna gently looked at Gimli. 'The poor little fellow will be traumatized after today.'

'I will use this knowledge to ensnare females of all people of Middle Earth!' Gimli cried out and raised his miniature axe into the air, almost pocking his amad's eyes out. 'I will win the heart of the most beautiful and fair ladies of Middle Earth when I am a grown dwarf! Dwarves will love my beard and elves will give me their hair!'

Grumbling into his beard after the females chuckled in amusement and hid their grins behind their hands, Gimli finally fell asleep in his mother's lap.

'Seriously, Ren.' Frigg leaned over to Loaren. 'You should go for it. I have never been with Thorin in an intimate way, so you do not need to worry.'

'It is not that...' Loaren took a long gulp of her mead. 'I want to wait for the right moment.'

'Only virgins wait for the right moment...' Hild muttered and then looked up at Loaren in shock. 'Mahal!'

Frigg needed a moment more to understand, but then she grinned brightly.

'You have never been with a man before?' Frigg asked in astonishment. 'But...you are surrounded by men! Many of them quite goodlooking men if I may add.'

'Temuera will be so pleased to hear that.' Loaren stated dryly as she thought of her old mentor, of whom she was sure that he never had a woman, but that thanks to his grumpiness – he was alot like Thorin, Loaren realised in shock.

'I swore that I would never bind myself to one of my men in intimacy.' Loaren shrugged her shoulders. 'And I have never been interested in the men my father had chosen for me.'

'So, the king would be the first?' Frigg rolled her eyes. 'This will be a real support for his ego...which probably is as big as his...'

'Frigg!' Hild covered Gimli's ears.

'Oh, calm down, will ya? He is asleep!' Frigg laughed.

'Noooo, mm not...' Gimli mumbled into his mother's dress. 'The king's sword is really big...'

Loaren was sure that their laughter could be heard in Dale.

Now, after several glasses of wine and her friends talking about men, Loaren felt hot and dizzy. She was the first who left the merry gathering and went to bed, for she would not go to Thorin drunk as Frigg had proposed with a giggle. With a deep sigh, Loaren fell into bed and fell asleep immediately.

00

Loaren looked up into the sky through the thick branches of the party tree and knew that it could only be a dream. It was the evening when Thorin and her had fallen asleep in the Shire after soft and dreamy kisses, but this time they did not stop after the kissing. Thorin loomed over her and his hands were everywhere, they roamed over Loaren's body and slipped below her tunic, the callous palms making her shiver in excitement. His lips found their way to her neck, nibbling and biting the soft flesh below her ear, the beard scratching over her skin. Loaren could not help but bury her hands in his mane and tug when he gently bit her. After each tug, Thorin nibbled harder and groaned into Loaren's ear, a sound that went right into Loaren's abdomen and exploded into a thousand butterflies. She could feel Thorin's muscular body press against her and she could feel his length rub against her thigh, which aroused her even more. Loaren was about to remove his shirt as the scenery changed and they were sitting outside of the mountain again, when Thorin's kin had forced them into spending time with each other. Thorin's shirt slipped over his shoulders and Loaren threw it away so that she could touch the king with both moved her hands over the broad shoulders, the hairy chest and then over the muscular arms and then up again. During all that time, Thorin watched her intensively and Loaren could not help but move one of her hands into his beard and enjoy the tickle of the coarse hair in her palm. Thorin leaned into the touch and almost purred, making Loaren smile. When Thorin caught her lips in his and immediately plundered her mouth, Loaren pressed herself closer against his sweaty chest. She was sitting on his lap and she could feel his hardness again. With an evil smirk, she moved her hip against it and grinned as Thorin gasped into her mouth. His hands moved to her hips and her bottom, but he did not push her back. On the contrary, he started to guide her hips against him, pressing himself harder and harder against her. The delicious friction made Loaren throw her head back and Thorin immediately started nibbling her exposed throat and neck. When he started kneading her breasts through her tunic, Loaren bit her lip and felt her insides burning for him.

'Thorin...' as she whispered his name, she could feel her surroundings fade. Loaren tried to hold on to her dream, but she could not.

When she awoke in her room, she pulled the pillow over her head and groaned into it.

00

Thorin grinded his fist into the pillow in his dream, where he was swirling Loaren around on the dancefloor, her curls flying and her smile lightning up the sky in Hobbiton. He wrapped her arms around her and pressed his forehead against hers. He watched her as she bit her lip and moved her hands into his collar, against his skin and over his beard. He purred against her touch and made her chuckle. He suddenly realised that they were alone on the dancefloor and that the meadow around the party tree was completely empty. With a wolfish grin, Thorin guided Loaren from the dancefloor and gently trapped her against the tree. He pushed her up against it and enjoyed her chuckles as his beard tickled her skin. He never smiled or laughed alot, but Loaren's laughhter was infectious and he loved to hear her laugh, even in his state of arousal. He gasped as her legs closed around his waist and pressed her tighter against the trunk of the tree. The good thing about the dress was that he could push it up and move his hands over the naked skin of her legs in no time. Loaren's legs were in a good shape, built and athletic and Thorin had to remember that she was a cavalry soldier. The thought about her legs around him aroused him more than he had ever imagined and he started to lose control. But he would not take her against a tree like a dwarfling in his youth, he was a king and he wanted her to feel like his queen. He buried his hands in her hair and gently tugged at the locks, playing with the curls and looking into her face. The stars reflected in her eyes and highlighted the soft as his turn to chuckle as Loaren nuzzled her small nose against his big one and kissed the tip of his nose. He captured her lips in a passionate kiss and felt as if they would melt into each other.

When he opened his eyes again, they were outside of the mountain, where his kin had trapped them to make them talk. Loaren was sitting on his lap, tugging at his shirt. As he removed his shirt and threw it away, her hands immediately started touching him,making him feel dizzy with want. He loved her small hands on him, her fingers playing with his chest hair and his muscles and her nails scratching over his abs. Her moans made him groan in delight and her mouth made him forget where they were and that the sun was burning his skin. But shortly before he was about to lose all control, he woke up.

00

Loaren was called to the royal kitchens a few days later and was stunned to see Tauriel sit at the huge table together with Thorin and Dwalin. Apparently, the elf was drunk out of her mind and barely awake. Dwalin looked amused and Thorin was highly annoyed.

'What happened?' Loaren asked and looked at Tauriel with big eyes.

'She turned up here, out of nowhere, and wanted to speak to Kili.' Thorin complained.

'Well that'a good – is it not?' Loaren added as she saw Thorin's frown.

'She was already drunk when she came here.' the king stated. 'She managed to get past the guards, but Dwalin caught her before she could reach the royal wing. Who knows what the drunk elf would have done.'

'Wait a minute...I remember my Immortals telling me about two dwarves who looked very much like the majestic king and the captain of the guard stumbling through the gates weeks ago, heavily drunk and grumbling curses.' Loaren stated as a matter of fact and enjoyed the caught looks on the dwarve's faces.

'I was trying to blend in...' Tauriel managed to say before she fainted onto the table.

'She blended in alright...like a dwarf lass.' Dwalin seemed unsure wether to like it or not. 'What now?'

'We should wake Kili and let him decide what to do.' Loaren said before Thorin could open his mouth.

'Since when do you make the decisions here?' Dwalin asked with a grin. 'You're not the queen, yet.'

'I will never be queen.' Loaren stated and sadly looked at Thorin. ‚You know that it is not possible.'

Thorin shook his head and walked towards Loaren to take her hands. 'We will get Kili. And on the way to his chambers we will talk. You, Dwalin, will wait here until Kili arrives.'

Dwalin nodded and sat down beside the passed out elf with his own ale.

Thorin and Loaren walked to the royal wing and tried to break the awkward silence.

'The elf has guts to show up here after all what hapened.' Loaren remarked and watched Thorin nod.

'Still, Kili was hurt deeply, he may need time to forgive her.' Thorin smiled bitterly. 'He is of the line of Durin. We tend to let our pride win over reason.'

'But you are also honest and true.' Loaren smiled softly. 'If Kili truly loves her then he will forgive.'

'Did you forgive me because you love me?' Thorin asked and made Loaren stop in her tracks.

'I cannot say it, yet.' Loaren admitted and looked at Thorin, expecting a sad expression, but Thorin looked back at her in understanding.

'I know. You have all the time you need. Time to learn to trust me again and time for me to prove myself to you again.' Thorin sighed. 'I hope that I will managed before I die of old age.'

Before they reached the royal wing, they ran into Dis.

'You think that I am bad, you should look into the kitchen.' Loaren stated and continued walking past the king's sister, who only snarled at her.

'She did not yell at you, I would call that an improvement.' Thorin remarked as Dis turned around the next corner.

'She loves me, she just does not know it, yet.' Loaren stated dryly and made Thorin chuckle.

At Kili's door, she paused. ‚You should go in there first.'

'You think?' Thorin grinned and knocked on the door, but he did not wait to walk in and regretted it immediately.

Loaren jumped as she heard him yell from the inside. 'Oh Mahal! My eyes!'

Thorin came storming out before Loaren could react and held his hands in front of his eyes.

'I did not want to see that!'

'Well, you should have waited to be invited inside, uncle, king or not...' Kili appeared, only with a cloth around his hips.

'What happened?' Loaren looked at the king and his half naked nephew. 'Uhm, Kili, I can still see your...'

'Whoa! I got it, I got it!' Kili rearranged the cloth. 'What are you doing here?'

'Tauriel is here.' Loaren told him, since Thorin was still in shock.

'Tauriel?' Kili looked like a hurt puppy for a moment, a look which reminded Loaren of Thorin. 'Why? What is she doing here?'

'I'd say that she wants a certain dwarf back.' Thorin mumbled from behind his hands. 'A dwarf, who apparently did not take much time to mourn her loss.'

'She left me.' Kili crossed his arms in front of his chest. 'She ran when she should have stayed and she left me behind. And who are you of all dwarves to judge me, uncle?'

'He has a point there...' Loaren toldThorin and grinned as he glared at her from behind his fingers. 'What is behind that door? It can't be that terrible?'

'Look for yourself, be my guest.' Thorin told her, but Kili stepped into her way.

'I beg your pardon, but theses are my chambers, I forbid you to sneek into there. I am a young lad, I have needs.'

'Needs, but I did not think that you were desperate!' Thorin exclaimed. 'The butcher's daughter, really?'

'What's so bad about the butcher's daughter?' Loaren wanted to know.

'You remember the goblin king from Bilbo's journal?' Thorin asked and Loaren nodded. 'Well, she could be his daughter.'

'Oh, come on!' Kili exclaimed. 'She is not that bad! And she has a nice personality.'

'Sometimes even the most beautiful personality does not help.' Thorin stated with a grin and Loaren did no know wether to laugh or not. She remembered the goblin king from Bilbo's drawings, he really had been ugly.

'Better a goblin than an elf.' Kili stated and slammed the door shut in front of their noses.

Thorin and Loaren looked at each other in worry over the young dwarf's bitterness.

'Huh...that's going to be work.'


	25. Chapter 25

**Here's the smut, guys, hope you like :)**

 **And what do you think is the issue with Kili?**

Dis had a very bad day. First, she had found the red haired elf in the royal kitchens, Dwalin snoring at the table and Thorin and Loaren cooking together. Thorin had mixed something in a bowl, but instead of moving the big wooden spoon inside of the bowl, he moved the bowl around in circles and it looked adorable. Dis cringed when she saw Loaren´s loving smile and fled the kitchen. This was too much of a family atmosphere for her, she was not used to any happiness anymore.

Then she had heard about her youngest son in bed with that horrible butcher´s daughter – Dis would never openly admit it, but rather the elf than that orc – and then she had had an argument with her cousin Dain, who had dared to speak in favor of Loaren.

'I know that woman, she is a fierce and honorable warrior!' Dain told her. 'The dwarves of the Iron Hills had a few skirmishes with the Immortals in the past already, but we hold the memories of these battles in honor.'

'How can you say that?' Dis stared at him in shock. 'This woman is about to steal my brother´s heart!'

'So?' Dain smiled. 'It was about freaking time! I thought that Thorin would die bitter and alone like…never mind.'

'Like me?' Dis sighed and sat down beside her cousin. 'You can say it. I am a bitter monster, hiding behind my hatred.'

'You are no monster, cousin.' Dain looked at her sadly. 'After all that you had to go through, everyone should understand.'

'But nobody knows what happened to me.' Dis tried to ban the memory from her mind. 'They do not know what happened to me and they think that I am a monster because I like to be one.'

'That immortal woman is no fool, Dis.' Dain stated. 'She must know that something happened that made you hate men so much. She is a woman after all, she might understand you better than you think. And the fact that she stayed loyal to all of you speaks for her.'

'I know.' Dis sighed heavily. 'I hate that. But I cannot tell her what happened. Nor can I tell her…..more.'

'Does anyone know about Kili?' Dain looked at his cousin in worry.

'No, not even Thorin.' Dis´ eyes filled with tears. 'Only my husband knew…..and he took this secret to his grave.'

'And Kili does not know either?' Dain raised his eyebrows.

'Kili should be the last one to know.' Dis spoke up. 'He would only think that he is no full member of the house of Durin. He already feels attracted to people outside of the dwarven race, I am afraid that I will lose him if he ever learns that he is…I just cannot do this….'

'I understand.' Dain frowned. 'But still, this is not fair to Kili.'

'None of this was fair.' Dis stated sadly and closed her eyes in defeat.

0

Loaren sighed when she closed the door behind her. Thorin and her had brought Tauriel into a guest room and had made sure that the door was heavily guarded, but for her own sake. They did not want the elf to wander the mountain forever in her search for Kili.

'Well, that was an interesting evening.' Loaren smiled at Thorin and the king immediately felt butterflies in his stomach. But the butterflies were exchanged by dragons in the next moment. 'I will miss this.'

'What do you mean?' Thorin looked at her with big eyes.

'Did you not know? I will leave for the Shire tomorrow.' Loaren frowned at him. 'The council has established a trading route to the Shire and back and some contracts need to be signed. I will bring the contracts to the Shire as a messenger of Erebor, as you have planned with the Thain all these months ago.'

'I have planned this….' Thorin was pale. 'But I did not plan to send you of all people!'

'Why not?' Loaren smiled sadly. 'I am the fastest rider, it only makes sense that I will go.'

'But I do not want you to go.' Thorin had stopped her by grabbing her hand. 'Stay here, with me. I have been stupid all these past months and I do not want to lose you – again.'

'You will not lose me, I will be away for a few weeks.' this time Loaren smiled merrily. 'If I take the road through the mountains, I will make it to the Shire in only two weeks.'

'Two weeks, are you flying?' Thorin was honestly surprised.

'No, silly.' Loaren chuckled. 'My horse is one of the fastest in the Eastern Realm…in fact I know only two horses that are faster, one is Asfaloth of Rivendell and the other one is Shadowfax, the lord of horses.'

'I see….' Thorin remembered what a beast her horse was. 'So his temper is normal, then? I thought that he just did not like me.'

'Oh, he does not like you.' Loaren grinned. 'He is a little protective of me.'

'At least I am sure that he will take good care of you then.' Thorin looked so sad in that moment, that Loaren could not help but wrap her arms around him and kiss his nose.

'What was that for?' Thorin stood there like turned to stone.

'Am I not allowed to kiss the king?' Loaren asked playfully and heard Thorin hiss as she moved closer to him.

'Oh, you are allowed to kiss the king, but on his nose?' Thorin smiled as Loaren laughed out loud in his arms.

'Where then?' Loaren bit her lip and coyly smiled at him.

'Everywhere.' The heat surrounding them became too much for Thorin as he pulled her close to passionately capture her lips in a searing kiss.

Loaren moaned into his mouth and felt her knees shake as she finally gave into the kiss. She felt a hard door knob in her back as Thorin pressed her against the next door and moaned in protest. Thorin grumbled an apology and moved his warm palms down her back to soothe the pain, while he opened the door. They stumbled through the door and suddenly Loaren felt trapped between two dwarves. The one behind her started yelling the moment they collided with him.

'My room! My room!' that was Dwalin´s voice. 'By Mahal´s balls, will you get out? Ewww….'

Before anyone knew it, the door smalled shut behind them and Thorin and Loaren burst into laughter in the dark corridor. From the inside, a shy voice sounded through the door.

'Thank Mahal, I already though that they wanted to swing….' followed by a loud and almost desperate sigh from Dwalin.

'Do not worry, Ori, Dwalin is not my type!' Loaren yelled through the door.

There was a moment of silence before Ori answered. 'Good.'

'Have a nice evening you two!' Loaren yelled back in.

'Thank you, you as well!' Ori yelled back, but he was cut short by a yelp.

'We should leave before Dwalin throws his axe at us.' Thorin pulled Loaren further down the corridor and found his own door.

Before they could enter the royal chambers, Thorin paused and looked at Loaren. 'I…do you want this?'

'Do I want what?' Loaren smiled as Thorin blushed.

'This….us…you know….' Thorin cleared his throat.

'I do not reall know what to expect so…..' Loaren bit her lip.

Thorin needed a long moment to catch what Loaren had just said. 'What do you mean with not knowing what to expect? You had a man before, right?'

'Uhmm…..' Loaren had thought that it had been obvious to him. 'No, not really. Do you not remember? I told you in the Shire...'

Dwalin and Ori nearly jumped in their bed as a loud 'Mahal!' echoed through the mountain.

0

'Thorin, really, this is no big deal.' Loaren was amused that Thorin seemed the one to be nervous at the moment.

'No big deal?' Thorin looked at her with wide eyes. 'You are…..I mean look at you and then your age….'

'Did you just call me old?' Loaren raised an eyebrow at him.

'Well….no! But….No, I did not call you old! Sweet Mahal…I am the old one, I even forgot that you had already told me...' Thorin sat down on his bed and stared at Loaren who was standing in front of him with a smirk. 'Why have you never….? Not that I complain about it but…..all the men you are surrounded by every day…I really need to form a decent sentence!'

Loaren chuckled and moved closer to Thorin. 'I never wanted a man, not the ones my father picked nor the ones I fought with. It would be stupid to become involved with one of my men…besides none of them is really my type.'

'That´s good.' Thorin took her hands and pulled her close again. He then began to nibble his way down the side of her neck and relished in her quiet moans. He knew that he had to move slower than expected, but he desperately wanted to take the final step, especially with Loaren gone for weeks after this day.

Loaren was even more eager than him. Like Frigg had proposed, she had tried to stay near him a lot and had fuelled both of their longings for each other in the past days. But it had taken a toll on her as well, she longed for Thorin in such a strong passion that it scared her. When she climbed onto of him and sat down on his lap, she could feel that he was more than ready and smiled into the kiss.

'Don´t to that, woman, or I´ll not be able to control myself.' Thorin mumbled against her skin.

'I do not want you to control yourself.' Loaren stated and smiled as Thorin gently bit into her neck.

'I do not want to hurt you.' Thorin took her face into both hands and softly kissed her lips.

'You won´t.' Loaren whispered and kissed his big nose again, which made both of them chuckle.

When she grinded her hips downward again, Thorin hissed and grabbed her hips. His animalistic groan sent shivers up and down Loaren´s back and she deliciously grinded her hips against him again. Thorin pulled her hard against him, leaving no room for air between them. His lips and his scratching beard on her skin made Loaren feel hot and wanting and soon, her hands were roaming over his body, searching for a patch of skin. She wanted to touch him like she had done in her dreams. Soon, Thorin´s upper clothes were thrown onto a pile in the floor beside the bed, but Loaren was still fully clothed. Before Thorin could protest, Loaren pushed him onto his back and began to kiss every inch of his upper body, making him hiss and groan with every contact of her hot lips. Her lips on his chest and her hands on his abs almost made him lose control. He grabbed the front of her tunic and ripped, which was rewarded with a quiet cry and a following chuckle. When he started licking and kissing her breasts and sucked a wet line up to her neck, Loaren let her head fall back and moaned loudly. The sound shot right into Thorin´s abdomen and made him press his hands into fists. This time, he grabbed her behind and pressed her against his hardness, so that she could feel his longing for her even through all the layers of clothes.

'Gods!' Loaren whispered as Thorin sucked at the spot behind her ear.

Somehow, they managed to work themselves out of their pants, although Loaren´s tight pants were a problem and made her curse loudly; Thorin was even sure to hear Frigg´s name in her curses. When they were naked and sweaty, Loaren paused and took a look at Thorin, blushing a bit when her gaze drifted to the lower body parts. Although he felt pretty smug, Thorin tried to hide his pride about the fact that she obviously liked what she saw and began to trail kisses down her neck, over her shoulders and gently nibbled at her breasts. He felt his restraint falter and moved further down, his hands cupping Loaren´s breasts, while his mouth moved down her body, his tongue leaving a wet trail. When he reached the spot between her legs, Thorin paused for a short while and grabbed her thighs. He looked up and made sure that he did nothing that made Loaren feel uncomfortable, but Loaren was looking down, panting hard and biting her lip, nodding at him to continue. When his tongue touched her folds, she cried out for the first time that night.

0

Loaren arched her back and cried out at the sensation of Thorin´s lips on her. His tongue almost drove her mad with want and she had to refrain from pressing herself against him even more. His beard scratched the sensitive skin between her legs and his hands held her down while she bucked beneath him.

'Gods! Thorin!' Loaren panted as she felt her second climax that night crush over her in waves. She thought that she would go blind for a second, but when the delicious waves began to soften, she opened her eyes to look into a smug dwarven face. Before she could tell him to no look so smug, Thorin rolled over her and she could feel his throbbing length between her legs. Loaren gave him a nod and Thorin began to slowly push into her. The feeling of being filled by him was mindblowing and it hurt less than Loaren had expected after seeing him in the nude. Thorin pushed in all the way and paused when he was fully sheeted to give Loaren some time to get used to the stretching. Only when she opened her eyes and looked at him, he started to move slowly, tilting his hips at first, then moving back and forwards. Loaren felt as if her whole body was on fire, she could not stop looking at the beautiful body above her, moving in steady rhythm and muscles flexing when Thorin moved. Thorin was pushed up on his arms left and and right of Loaren´s body and she could not help but run her fingernails over the massive lower arms, scratching in passion. When he started to move harder, Loaren cried out and wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to go faster and deeper. Thorin grabbed her leg and pulled it upwards, while he tilted his hips even more, hitting the sweet spot inside of Loaren which made her cry out. Loaren was as close as he was, but Thorin wanted this night to be an unforgettable one. He bent down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss and swallowed her moans and cries, while he continued moving. Her hands moved into his hair and she started tugging at every push of his hips. When she touched his braids, Thorin could not hold back anymore. Making sure that he did not hurt her, he slammed into her with such passion that even his kisses could not silence her cries anymore. When Loaren arched her back again, he began sucking her nipples and his hand moved to her neck, gently holding her in place.

Like in a haze, he could hear her begging and looked down at her. Loaren´s eyes were clouded and wide, but he could see all the love she held for him in the soft brown of her irises. It took only his whispered name out of her mouth to make him come as hard as he never had before. With a last desperate push of his hips, he made her follow him over the edge and this time he was sure that everyone heard them, but he did not care.

In their chambers, Dwalin and Ori were in their bed, with pillow tugged over their ears.

'Definetly not laughing this time.' Dwalin muttered and Ori had to grin inot the pillow.


	26. Chapter 26

**The updates will come every two weeks now, folks...sorry about that, but life is just crazy...Enjoy!**

'You should take Gimli with you.' Dwalin told Thorin with a grin. 'Not that you grab some other Immortal`s butt and give him a sweet kiss goodbye instead the woman.'

Thorin froze in midmotion and turned around to his friend, half dressed into his royal garment.

'I beg your pardon?' Thorin remembered that they had stumbled into Dwalin´s room last night, but he had hoped that his friend would show more tact.

'After last night, I thought that you would want to show your love for the woman openly. Ya know, since the whole mountain heard anyway…..' Dwalin grinned as he saw Thorin blush furiously.

'Oh, shut up, will ya…..we were not that loud! You and Ori are worse!' it was Thorin`s turn to grin now, since Dwalin blushed over his whole skull. 'It´s a wonder that Dori learned about you guys so late.'

While Dwalin grumbled into his beard, Thorin got dressed and thought about his friend´s suggestion. Loaren had left this morning, for she had to pack for her mission and he had stayed in bed with a stupid grin. But Dwalin was right, he wanted to say goodbye at the gate. He would not be able to kiss her goodbye though, for to his kingdom, he was still engaged to Frigg. He would change that immediately after this morning´s council and set Frigg free to be with Fili.

Fili and Frigg made a beautiful couple, Thorin had to admit it. The next descendants on Durin´s throne would be golden and outshine the gold in his banned treasury. Thorin shook his head as he remembered that he supposed to treasure his gold too much, he would not ruin everything again by repeating that action. He diverted his troubled mind by thinking of Loaren and immediately felt more at ease. Thorin smiled when he thought about last night and how they both had enjoyed it. He knew that females sometimes could not enjoy the act for the first time because it hurt and felt relief. Loaren had not felt any pain, at least she had not shown it and her cries had been of a different nature.

While Thorin dreamily made his way to the gate, Loaren packed for her journey and already knew that she would forget half of what she needed. Last night had almost blown all her troubles away and she felt at peace for the first time ever. Of course, she still had a few doubts, but they seemed so small now. Even the fact that she would be away from Thorin for the next weeks did not trouble her, for she knew that he would wait for her when she came back. And she would do everything in her power to come back, even if the route she had chosen to travel faster was a dangerous one.

Temuera stood behind her and packed all the things she would have forgotten if she would have been alone. Her dreamy state could only mean one thing and it made the older Immortal smile. Finally he could see her like that, he had worried that he would die of old age before he would see his leader in love like this. With a raised eyebrow, he gave her the things he had packed and together they made for the gate.

Two Immortals were already waiting there. Loaren would ride to the Shire, the second Immortal would ride to Lothlorien and the third would pay a visit to the people of Rohan in the name of the king of Erebor. Thorin had not dared to send an Immortal messenger to Gondor, for he knew that the Immortals and the people from Gondor had had quite a few problems in the past.

Loaren gave last instructions, but they were only few, Temuera knew more than well what to do in her absence and she trusted him blindly. When she saw Temuera grin over her shoulder, she knew that Gimli was approaching. Her second in command loved the little dwarf as if he was his own son, in fact all the Immortals loved little Gimli.

'Master Gimli!' Temuera kneeled down in front of the little one.

'Lady Loaren, Master Temuera!' Gimli smiled at them and then grinned at the others. 'Good morning Sanor and Loki!'

Loaren looked at the other Immortals and wondered once again how Gimli could know who they were, for they wore their masks.

'How do you do that?' Loaren wondered loudly.

'I only told Master Temuera my secret.' Gimli told her proudly. 'But maybe you will find out one day.'

Loaren looked to Temuera and back to Gimli and both pressed their lips into one thin line to demonstrate that they were sealed. Shaking her head in amusement, Loaren went to her horse and started to prepare for the journey. Thorin was nowhere to be seen, but then again they would not be able to show their affection for one another in public anyway.

'Loaren!' Frigg´s voice made her jump and as she turned around, she saw her friend and future queen run up towards her. 'Did you plan to sneek away without saying goodbye?'

'Well…..yes.' Loaren chuckled. 'I will be back soon!'

'You will be gone for weeks!' Frigg hugged her tightly and Loaren could feel her ribs protest. 'Take care, do you hear me?'

'I will.' Loaren smiled as she hugged Frigg back and saw Dwalin, Ori, Fili and Balin standing behind her.

'I hope that you realise how many friends you will leave behind.' Frigg told her and smiled sadly. 'The one you want to see the most stands up there with his dragon sister.'

Loaren looked up to where Frigg was standing and saw Thorin look down at her together with Dis. While Thorin´s gaze was full of love, Dis´ frown was thunderous and Loaren wondered wether she knew about her and Thorin. She was grateful that she had kissed Thorin goodbye this morning, in the privacy of his chambers. The kiss had been long and passionate and had made them both wander the mountain like sleepwalkers afterwards.

Loaren nodded her goodbyes at everyone and then mounted her horse. Together with the other two, she rode down the road towards dale and then looked back. She could see Thorin talk to Dis and then she saw Dis turn towards her with her eyes practically glowing. She was even sure to see smoke coming out of her nostrils and could see that Thorin quietly retreated from the balcony. So he had told her, Loaren thought with a grin and rode away to fulfill her mission as quickly as possible.

0

'I cannot believe that you did this.' Dis was fuming.

'What did I do, sister mine?' Thorin looked at her with a neutral expression. 'I followed my heart.'

'You followed your dick.' Dis remarked dryly and turned away. 'Like all males do, apparently.'

'You found out about Kili as well?' Thorin welcomed the different topic.

'Yes.' Dis frowned. 'The butcher´s daughter….and I thought it could not get worse after that mercenary and the elf. But you do know that there will be no future for you or Kili with these women?'

When Thorin only frowned at her, Dis continued.

'You will not be able to father a child, men and dwarves are not compatible that way.' Dis muttered, but Thorin felt his patience snap. He had known something terrible for a very long time now and he had never planned to tell Dis that he knew, but her lying about a possible future for him and Loaren made him see red.

'Oh really?' Thorin´s gaze went cold. 'What about Kili, then?'

Dis froze on the spot and paled. 'What about Kili?'

'I may be dense sometimes, but I can count and I can get the right conclusion at times.' Thorin frowned down at his sister, who looked as if she would collaps any minute. 'Kili was born nine months after you were freed from these men. Nine months are a normal pregnancy period for men, not dwarves. He does not look anything like you, his supposed father or even me. He does not have a proper beard yet. He does not hold his liquor. He is half man and you kept that from all of us.'

Dis felt as if she had to throw up and her knees gave away. Through a fog, she felt Thorin´s arms wrap around her and felt him guide her to a chair. She felt dead inside and she could not even cry. Thorin had known all this time – had her husband known?

'Did he know?' Dis asked, but her voice was merely a whisper.

'No, he did not know. He loved you both so much.' Thorin knew that Dis was speaking of her late husband. 'I am the only one who knew.'

'And Dain.' Dis managed to say.

'Dain?!' Thorin looked at her with wide eyes. 'Dain? Why Dain?'

'I had to talk to somebody. Somebody who I would not have to look in the eye every day. Dain was there for me when I thought I had lost everything. We talked before you set off on your quest to reclaim Erebor.' Dis told her brother, then she felt a cold fist around her heart. 'Does Kili know?'

Thorin felt a sudden sadness wash over him, a sadness he had not felt since Loaren had appeared in his life. 'No, I do not think he does. He always felt different, but I do not think that he knows why.'

'I cannot tell him the truth, it will break his heart.' Dis sighed.

'Instead, you want to break his and my heart by keeping us from the women we love?' Thorin remarked bitterly.

'You love her?' Dis was even more pale when she turned towards him this time.

'I thought it was obvious!' Thorin grew angry.

'It was obvious that you wanted inside her pants!' Dis answered furiously. 'I never thought that there was more than simple attraction!'

'Do you think simple attraction would have made her stick around while you tormented her?' Thorin was sick and tired of excusing everything Dis had done in the past.

'She sticks around because she and her mercenaries get payed.' Dis tried to hide her hurt behind a cold and heartless façade.

'Even if you have forgotten what love is, Dis, I have not.' Thorin knew that it was a cheap blow, but he also knew that the brutal truth would be the only thing his sister would accept. 'I have found love in that woman you hate so much. Accept it, because I will stay true to her, no matter what happens.'

Dis could feel her eyes water. She felt so many emotions at the moment, self pity, hatred, sadness, frustration, but also happiness. Deep down, she was happy for her brother, he and her sons were the only family she had left. She could not accept that this woman would sneak her way into her family. A woman from the race which ruined her whole life and probably also her sons life, because she knew that she would have to tell Kili the truth.

'I am so sorry, Dis.' Thorin sighed and sat down beside her.

'No…do not apologise…I needed this.' Dis knew that it was the truth as the words left her mouth. 'Everyone tried to protect me by shielding me from further pain and not being honest about me being a bitch – no, I know how I behaved, Thorin. I am the bitch under the mountain.'

'Actually, your nickname is the "dragon under the mountain".' Thorin remarked and let out a relieved sigh when Dis chuckled into his shoulder.

0

The following weeks passed by more swiftly than Loaren had expected. She got to the Shire faster than she had planned and managed to drop of the letters to the Thain, who welcomed her with a warm smile.

'The queen under the mountain honors us with her presence. I have to admit, after all that Bilbo told me about dwarves, I would not have expected the proud king to let you out of his grasp.' the Thain smiled and winked at Loaren, who had to smile back.

'We told you that we are not married and are not…' Loaren stopped talking when she realized that she did not know how to end that sentence. She had wanted to say that they were not in love, but she realized then that she would lie.

'Of course not…' the Thain chuckled. 'I am four times your age, my dear, I know love when I see it. And that king was head over heals for you.'

Loaren could not help but smile and remember their last night together in Erebor. She must have blushed, because the Thain chuckled even more.

'I take it that you will return to Erebor as soon as you can? I will set up the contracts, but it will take two or three days until I have everything ready.' the Thain grinned as Loaren nodded politely.

'You will find me at Bag End, master Thain.' Loaren said her goodbyes. 'And thank you – for everything.'

When the door closed behind her, the Thain´s smile grew even wider and he started to chuckle. He would make sure that the stubborn king under the mountain had his love back soon enough…..but maybe he would make him – and her – suffer a bit. It would take some time for them to realise how much they would miss each other.

0

Loaren walked back to Bag End, this time without losing her way. She walked past the big party tree and slowed down to look at it. If she closed her eyes, she could see the fireflies, smell the grass and feel Thorin´s hands on her, as well as his lips on hers. With a dreamy smile she thought about her last night with Thorin. It had been wonderful and all she wanted was to repeat it whenever and as often as she could. Originally, she had taken the messenger duty to try to clear her head far away from Thorin, but now all she wanted was to be back in his strong arms. With a sigh, Loaren sat down below the tree and stared up into the darkening sky. When she closed her eyes, she thought about the second time they had made love that night.

Loaren had hallway drifted to sleep, but Thorin had not let her fall asleep. His callous hands had moved over her back, her waist and her behind, for she was facing away from him. When he pressed himself against her from behind, she had felt his hardness against her back and moaned. His lips had pressed against her neck, while his hand had moved between her legs. Loaren leaned against the trunk of the tree, her mind captured by the memory of her love´s touch. They had made love three times that night and she was sure that they would have done more if she would not have had to leave the next morning. She could feel her gut clench at the thought of doing things when she returned. Little did she know, that Thorin turned and tossed in his bed thinking about getting his hands on her again when she returned to Erebor.


	27. Chapter 27

Thorin watched Gimli walk to the gate at his father´s side, proudly wielding his miniature axes and sporting a grim expression. Orcs have been spotted in the north lately and the mountain was on high alert. Thorin was standing on the lookout over Erebor´s gates and gazed south for days now. Four weeks had passed and Loaren was still not back. Thorin knew that the negociations would take a few days and that Loaren was staying with Bilbo, probably catching up and enjoying some time in Bag End, which was a safe haven for so many of them. Thorin and his dwarves had always felt at home with Bilbo and his stocked pantry and their visits to Bag End had always been merry and peaceful. He also knew that Loaren could take care of herself and that her monster – uh, horse – would outrun every warg, but still, he worried.

The past days had been quiet, with everything turning back to normal. Dis was her moody and angry self, Tauriel was back in Mirkwood and Kili was still in his room. Fili and Frigg had tried to lure him out and take his mind of the elf, but Kili was depressed and drank too much. He did not meet with the butcher´s daughter anymore, but he had sent Tauriel away as well, although she had apologized and told him that she loved him. But Kili was still hurt and as a stubborn as a rock Durin, he turned away from her. In a weak moment, even Dis showed sympathy for the elf, who had looked heartbroken. All of this reminded Thorin of how much he missed Loaren and his impatience grew with every day. It was no that he only missed her body or her touch, he missed all of her, her smiles, her laugh, her whole presence.

With a deep frown, he looked down at Gloin, who was in charge of the guards at the gate and around it. He hoped that he would send Gimli back into the mountain soon, for he expected an attack on the mountain any day now and did not want any females or little ones outside of Erebor. Thorin let out a relieved sigh as Gimli marched back into the mountain, followed by two Immortals, whose guard was over. Suddenly, an arrow hit the Immortal walking on Gimli´s right side and killed him immediately. The second Immortal was also struck by an arrow, but he managed to pull Gimli to safety against the mountain´s wall. Before the dwarves could react, many dozen orcs came rushing over them, apparently they had killed the patrols and had managed to sneak up upon the mountain from the side. The Immortals and the dwarven guards fought for their lives and they managed to close the gate so that no orc could enter the mountain. Goblins climbed up to enter the mountain from the lookout, but Thorin and the guards there fought them back. Thorin beheaded the last Goblin when he heard Gloin scream bloody murder. He looked down and saw one of the orcs pick up Gimli and retreat with the dwarfling in his arms. Gimli tried to hit the orc´s eyes out, but his axes did not pierce the creature´s armor. Gloin fought like a maniac to get to his son, but the remaining orcs fought him back and died to ensure the retreat of their comrades. The last Gloin saw of his son was a falling miniature axe.

0

Loaren had enjoyed the peace of the Shire and the quiet in Bilbo´s home, but she could not wait to return to Erebor. She had never felt at home anywhere, but in two places, Bag End and Thorin´s arms. She did not like the mountain very much, but with Thorin there, she could even imagine living there. Loaren shook her head when she realized what she was thinking about. They had spent one night together and she already dreamt about a future together. Smiling bitterly, Loaren looked out of the round door of Bag End and smiled as she saw the party tree.

'The contracts will be finished tomorrow.' Bilbo told her and made her jump. Like Thorin, Loaren could never hear him walk up to her.

'It took long enough.' Loaren smiled. 'Don´t get me wrong, I am so grateful for your hospitality and I really enjoyed my stay here…..'

'But you miss Thorin?' Bilbo´s grin grew wider when Loaren nodded.

Loaren really missed Thorin, but she was also relieved to leave the Shire soon. Although it was a peaceful place, the inhabitants annoyed Loaren heavily. The female hobbits asked her tons of questions about her good looking and strong husband and why they did not have dwarflings, yet. One particularly old hobbit lady creeped Mordor out of Loaren by telling her that she would definetly not get out of the bedroom if her husband was that attractive – while her husband was sitting right next to them. The Thain also made some comments about Loaren´s connection to Thorin, being the only one besides Bilbo to know that Loaren and Thorin had not pursued their marriage immediately.

Loaren was relieved that she could ride to Erebor tomorrow, away from the nosy hobbits and back to her dwarven king. Bilbo laughed as he saw her dreamy smile and patted her shoulder as he walked back in. He was happy that Thorin had found love in Loaren and already planned to travel for Erebor for their actual wedding. He longed to see his friends again and a part of him also wanted to hit the road again. He had just finished his journal "There and Back Again" and he longed for the back again part. But first, Loaren had to return and put Thorin into a cheerful and happy mood.

0

'Goodbye, master hobbit.' Loaren hugged Bilbo tightly and smiled down at him. 'And I am sure that I do not overstep any boundaries by thanking you in the name of the dwarves of Erebor. Your support in setting up these contracts was highly appreciated. The Shire´s friendship and the established trade routes will add to the stability of the West.'

'Spoken like a true princess.' Bilbo chuckled. Sometimes, he could see a glimpse of the princess Loaren was, even if she had tried to forget and suppress that particular part of her life.

'Very funny.' Loaren frowned halfheartedly. When she walked back to her horse, she noticed that Bilbo stayed away. 'He won´t bite, you know.'

'No.' Bilbo eyed the huge horse carefully. 'But I remember that he once almost trampled Thorin.'

'Ah.' Loaren waved her hand and grinned. 'For some reason he hates Thorin, but he is usually very friendly.'

'If you say so.' Bilbo nodded, but did not come any closer. After all these years and travelling half of Middle Earth on a pony, he still was not used to it. The pony he had brought back from his journey, Mindy, was happily chewing in the back of Bag End´s yard and was becoming fat like any good hobbit. Of course, he could not resist and feed her many apples as well. 'Ride carefully, you hear me, young lady?'

'I will, master hobbit.' Loaren smiled and nodded her goodbye. 'Until we meet again!'

Bilbo waved and watched Loaren ride out of the Shire in a pretty unrespectable speed. Shaking his head in amusement, he knew that he should have given that poor horse some apples before it was heading back to Erebor for strength.

Loaren rode swiftly and she managed to reach the borders of Erebor in a little more than two weeks. She smiled when she saw the snowy tip of the mountain and did not even stop in Dale for rest. She and also her loyal horse could rest when they reached the mountain. Home.

But as she rode near, she felt that something was off. She saw a few patches of burned soil and some filthy weapons on the ground, also some black blood traces.

'Orcs.' Loaren muttered and then lifted her gaze to see the gate of Erebor closed.

Cold fear crept into Loaren´s heart and she urged her horse to ride faster. When she had reached the gate, she could only see dwarven guards on the balcony above her, but they recognized her and immediately opened the gate for her to enter. Loaren needed a while to get accustomed to the dark of the mountain again, but when she looked down, she looked right into Dis´ face and winced.

'Welcome back.' was all the king´s sister said and that worried Loaren more than anything else.

'What happened here?' Loaren took a look around and could not spot one single immortal or a familiar face.

'We were attacked.' Dis ´ tone was still neutral. 'Orcs raided the mountain yesterday.'

'Casualties?' Loaren dismounted her horse and brought it to the stables with Dis following her.

'Six dwarven guards, two Immortals and two dozen civilians.' Dis tone became bitter now. 'The orc filth managed to enter the mountain by a crumbled side path and slaughtered the merchants before we even realized that they were there. We have been careless in our peace.'

Two immortals. Loaren could feel the cold spread in her body. She wanted to ask which Immortals she had lost, but she did not want to make the impression that she cared more about her men than about the dwarves.

'How could they have attacked the mountain without the scouts seeing them?' Loaren asked instead and hoped for more information.

'They have used some of the old tunnels from the Battle of the Five Armies.' Dis told her. 'They killed three dwarven scouts and were standing in front of our gates in no time. We destroyed the tunnels, but of course, the damage is done.'

'Where are all my men?' Loaren had walked to the throne room with Dis, but she had noticed that not one single Immortal was standing guard.

'They left the mountain to get master Gimli back.' Dis said and yelped as Loaren grabbed her arm.

'What? What happened to master Gimli?' Loaren looked down at Dis with so much worry, that the dwarven princess could not even get mad at the woman´s hands on her arm.

'Two of your men died while they tried to protect Gimli from the orcs. They were outside when it happened. The orcs took little Gimli and two third of your men followed them. I have never seen them so determined and so angry. They did not even have to wear their masks, their faces were already terrifying.' Dis shuddered when she remembered how the Immortals had left the mountain like war demons to retrieve little Gimli. 'The rest of your men is in the throne room and protects the royal family.'

Loaren nodded and felt the urge to follow her men in pursuit of Gimli. The bag with the contracts over her shoulder felt incredibly heavy all of a sudden and she remembered that she had not finished her assignment. They walked down the dark corridors in silence and Loaren felt the urge to see Thorin again linger in her heart. Only a few more steps.

But she knew that she would not be able to give in into her longing. In the throne room, he was the king and she was his mercenary, not friends and especially not lovers. When they entered the throne room, Loaren almost jumped at the loud yelling. She looked up and saw Thorin slumped on his throne with his fingers pressed against his nose and his council yelling at each other. She froze on the spot and Dis sneered.

'I am gone for one minute…..' she mumbled and marched up to the group of yelling dwarves. 'Shazara! Be quiet, all of you!'

The yelling stopped immediately and Loaren could not help but smile. So everyone was afraid of Dis.

'Our messenger is back from the Shire.' Dis informed the king and Loaren could see Thorin´s gaze move over to her. Although she had not expected any open happiness about her return, she was taken back by the cold stare and his reserved bearing.

'You brought the contracts?' was all Thorin asked her.

Loaren swallowed and nodded. She grabbed the contracts and handed them over to a servant who carried them to the king.

'You have our gratitude for your services.' Thorin grumbled and put the contracts away without reading them. 'You are dismissed, you must be tired from your journey.'

In her shock, Loaren was frozen to the ground beneath her feet. Of course, the situation was bad and everyone was worried about the attack and the wellbeing of little Gimli, but she had never expected such a cold welcome. Nodding slowly, she stepped back and turned around without looking back at Thorin again. Her legs carried her out of the throne room and into her chambers without her really noticing anything more. Only when her door closed behind her, she covered her face with her hands and felt tears dwell in her eyes. A part of her understood Thorin´s behaviour, while the other part hated herself for her weakness. They had been together for a night and now she expected him to act like a love drunk fool? She had told herself from the beginning, that he was the king and she was his mercenary, nothing more, nothing less. But she had betrayed herself. It simply could not be more than that and Thorin would never openly admit his feelings for her, she had to accept that. With a sigh, Loaren looked down at her bed and then back at the silver mask hanging at her side. She quickly took a bath and changed to go back to the throne room to take over her duty as a masked guard.

In the meantime, Loaren´s men rode through the north, following the trails of the orc pack that had taken little Gimli. Temuera was sick of worry and he could see the same worry in the eyes of his men and women. All the Immortals loved little Gimli dearly and they would give their lives to save his anytime. As they followed the trail, they noticed that they led to another tunnel. The entry was dark and it stunk, but the Immortals were determined to get Gimli back. They would not be able to fight properly in such a tunnel, but they would give the orcs a hard time. Temuera looked up at the sun one more time before he rode into the dark followed by two hundred of his men.

0

Loaren could almost not bare the look on Hild´s and Gloin´s faces when they entered the throne room and asked for news of the search for their son. She was standing behind Thorin, in her armor and her mask and she was sure that nobody knew that it was her. But the urge to comfort the grieving parents made her realise that she had become too attached to her masters, the people who paid her and her men for protection. The Immortals had succeeded in protecting the mountain, but in the last attack they had failed them all.

'Is there no word from the Immortals, yet?' Gloin asked and looked at Loaren, who only shook her head in regret. They had not heard anything from her men for days and Loaren was deeply worried. Dwarven scouts from the Iron Hills had found a trail that had stopped in the middle of rubble and stone and there was no trace of Loaren´s men from that point on. But there were no bodies either and that gave Loaren some hope. No army had managed to overthrow the Immortals in battle before and she was sure that Temuera would not let them get slaughtered by a rag tag band of orcs. While she wanted nothing more than help her men search for Gimli, she knew that she and her remaining hundred men would have to secure the mountain, so that nothing like that could happen again. Half of her men were out on patrol, while the others secure every crack in this mountain. Loaren and three other Immortals took shifts to guard the royal family together with Dwalin´s dwarves. She only hoped that there would be news soon, the uncertain situation took a toll on all of them.

While the mountain grieved and hoped, Temuera and his men had found the exit of the tunnels, but they had come too late. The orcs had been slaughtered, not one of them was alive anymore. The exit of the tunnels had led them to Mirkwood and elven archers had waited for them to emerge.

Temuera felt his heart freeze at the sight of the dead orc bodies pierced by countless arrows, but then he saw a blond elf and a familiar red haired elf looking down at a grumbling, dirty and filthy picture of misery on the floor.

'What is this, an orc mutant?' the blonde elf sneered before Temuera´s fist hit him on his pretty nose.


	28. Chapter 28

Loaren stood on the lookout over Erebor´s gates as she saw an Immortal ride over the road past Dale and towards Erebor. His speed could only mean two things, either they needed help or he had an important message, but since there were no messenger out at the moment, Loaren prepared for the worst. While the guards called out to get the king, Loaren hurried down to the gate.

'We found him! We have the little redbeard!' the Immortal told Loaren, but in his hurry, he spoke their Mother Tongue and the dwarves grew nervous.

'Speak a language we can all understand, man!' Dwalin rushed forwards.

'My men found Gimli.' Loaren told him and could not help a relieved grin. She turned back to the Immortal and spoke Westron this time. 'Is he well?'

'He is well, yes. A few scratches, a slightly hurt ego, but nothing dramatic….' the Immortal took a deep breath as he saw Thorin, Gloin and Hild approach and Loaren knew that it was not all.

'What happened?' Loaren looked at him sternly and grinded her teeth.

'We might have a diplomatic…..situation on our hands.' the Immortal muttered.

'A diplomatic situation?' Loaren exchanged a look with Thorin. 'What kind of diplomatic situation? Speak!'

With heavy sigh, the Immortal dismounted his horse and stood straight. 'We followed the orc pack through a tunnel that we found near the Iron Hills. It took us many days, but finally we emerged in Mirkwood. The orcs were all dead, slaughtered by the elves. We thought that all was lost, but then we saw that little Gimli was still alive.'

Loaren could hear Hild and Gloin sobbing in relief. 'Where is he? Why did you not bring him with you?' Hild asked and looked up to the man.

'Well…' the Immortal took a deep breath before he continued. 'One of the elves insulted little Gimli, calling him an orc mutant…..'

Thorin and Gloin were outraged, for they remembered that insult and also the elf who had uttered it.

'…Temuera broke his nose.' the Immortal continued.

Loaren rolled her eyes as the dwarves around her cheered in support.

'What is the problem, then?' Loaren wanted to know.

'Well, apparently, the elf whose nose he broke is the crown prince of Mirkwood.' the Immortal shrugged his shoudlers. 'And now, a whole army of elves accompanies our men to Erebor to "settle that issue".'

'I´ll break his freaking nose again if he dares to call my son names, let them come!' Hild was furious. 'Prince or not, that pointy eared bastard!'

Loaren pinched her nose as the dwarves at the gates all erupted into shouts of agreement.

0

Loaren took a deep breath when she finally relaxed for the first time in weeks. She had decided to take a bath in one of the hot springs of Erebor and to think of nothing and nobody for once. A moan escaped her lips as the hot water covered her body and she leaned back against the also warm stone of the pool. Gimli had been found, he was safe and the dwarves would deal with the elves. Of course, Loaren knew that this diplomatic issue would end in chaos, but this was not her place to worry about this. She and her men were mercenaries, they would fight at Erebor´s side, wether it was against orcs or elves. Loaren even hoped to fight against elves for once, she had always wanted to know wether they were such great warriors as the stories told.

Her thoughts drifted to more personal things the more she relaxed. She caught herself thinking about Thorin again and it made her frown deeply. Thorin had tried to catch her gaze more than once, but she had stubbornly refused to look at him. Loaren did not care wether it was childish or not, she did not want to see him nor speak to him. He was the king, he had duties and he had had a lot on his mind during the past days. Lingering in their little romance would have been irresponsible and illoyal towards his people. Still, was it necessary to ignore her and to not seek her help or her advice in the first days of her arrival in Erebor? They had not seen each other for weeks and he had not spoken one word to her. Torn between understanding and hurt, Loaren let herself sink into the hot water until she felt the water close above her head. For once, she did not want to think about anything at all.

00

Loaren felt the cold of the throne room creep through her body and cursed the cold mountain and the darkness surrounding them. She was standing behind the throne, in her mercenary outfit and watched a furious elven king depart. Thorin´s mood was no way better than the elven king´s and he ordered everyone out. As she turned to leave, Thorin grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the throne, pushing her against the cold stone. He removed her mask and her hood and her hair fell down in cascades, covering her face and his hands, which buried themselves in her mane immediately. Loaren was about to protest as Thorin´s hungry lips met hers and his tongue invaded her mouth, swallowing every sound that had attempted to leave her mouth. Breathing loudly through her nose, Loaren gave in and pulled Thorin even closed, until her body was trapped between the cold stone and his hot body. Loaren gasped as Thorin nibbled his way down the side of her neck and ripped her tunic open and all of a sudden, she was pressed against the stone of the throne in all her nakedness. Loaren knew then, that it was a dream, but she struggled to hold on to it. It felt simply delicious to be touched by Thorin´s callous hands and to feel his clothes rub ober her skin, while her back was pressed against the cold throne. The sensation of it made Loaren crave for more and she began to open Thorin´s trousers. Their first time had been tender and soft and Thorin had made sure to not hurt Loaren or to go too fast or too hard on her. Now, all Loaren wanted was a hard relief and she wanted to feel alive again. She grinded her hips against Thorin´s erection and made him growl into her mouth. A part of her felt awkward for wanting him so desperately, but the bigger part of her only wanted to be taken right there, right now and that part grew more desperate by the moment. Thorin pushed her up against the stone and made her wrap her legs around his waist, she bare legs scratching against his royal attire. When he positioned himself at her entrance, Loaren smiled and grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. She could not help but gasp loudly and moan, as Thorin filled her up to the hilt with one swift push of his hips. The hot friction of his body on her front and the ice cold stone behind her back made Loaren gasp with every thrust and soon, she tilted her hips to allow him an even deeper access. Pressing her against his throne, Thorin only moved his hips, slowly at first, but encouraged by Loaren´s moans, his moves became faster and more powerful.

Loaren could feel a powerful climax build up inside of her and grabbed Thorin´s braids to look at him, but when she was close to completion – she woke up.

With a frustrated growl, Loaren realized that she was in her own bed and that she had fallen asleep immediately after she had come back from the hot springs. Cursing loudly, she turned and tossed in her bed until morning and when she made ready to go to the throne room, her dream was forgotten.

00

Thorin was fuming when the elven delegation entered the throne room and took a deep breath. He could see prince Legolas – with a swollen nose – the red head and a handful of elves parade down the aisle to the throne as if they owned the place. He could feel Kili stiffen at his side and he could also feel Dis´ fury about the unwelcomed guests. Only Fili and Frigg seemed calm and reserved. And of course the Immortal guards behind him, of which one seemed a little restless though.

When the delegation of elves stopped in front of the throne, they bowed, but only so far that it was no diplomatic affront. Prince Legolas even shot a glare at Loaren, remembering the pain in his nose.

'Prince Legolas, I have been informed that you have brought back young master Gimli.' Thorin tried to keep his fury form making his voice rumble. 'You have our gratitude. Our young mean the world to us.'

While Legolas seemed surprised by the unexpected politeness, Tauriel and the other elves were still furious.

'Your gratitude broke the prince´s nose!' Tauriel snarled. 'We demand this Immortal to be punished!'

Temuera had walked up to the throne behind the elves and now stood beside them, his head held high and his eyes front. Loaren felt her anger rise and the lack of sleep did not help. All she wanted to do at the moment was to rip that elf´s red hair out.

'This Immortal is a valued member of my guard and has followed the orc pack for days to retrieve Gimli, son of Gloin.' Thorin grinded his teeth. 'As I was told, your prince insulted the young one, who is very dear to the dwarves of Erebor and their friends and allies.'

'This is not the way diplomatic relations should be held.' Legolas voice was nasal and made Fili and Kili snigger behind their hands. 'We demand at least an apology.'

Temuera was about to protest and Loaren took a step forward, but Thorin held both of them back by holding up his hand.

'I will not order him to do such a thing. This incident was the reaction to an insult made by our supposed allies.' Thorin sneered at Legolas. 'The times of accepting insult without consequences are over once and for all. Once again, I express my gratitude for destroying the orc pack that attacked us. But I will put this matter to rest and ask you to leave this mountain or have the curtesy to respect our culture.'

Legolas seemed to think about the king´s words, but Tauriel was about to overstep all boundaries.

'These words coming from dwarves, who have never shown any respect for other people´s cultures.' she sneered and even a warning glare by Legolas could not stop her.

'How dare you stand in front of the king and throw even more insults at us!' Dis asked enraged. 'Elf scum!'

Before Thorin could react the throne room erupted in yelling and axes and swords were drawn. Fili pushed Frigg behind him and Thorin had to hold Dis back while the dwarven guards and the Immortals surrounded the throne with their weapons pointed at the elves.

Legolas glared at Tauriel and ordered his guard to lower their weapons.

'I apologise, king Thorin, for the insolence of the captain of our guard. You can be assured that she will be severely punished. But we expect the same to happen to the Immortal.' The prince insisted.

'This is no bargain!' Thorin growled and stepped forward. 'I ask you to leave this mountain or I will order the Immortals to escort you out.'

'The irony….' Tauriel looked at Dis and then at Kili. 'The proud dwarves, relying on the military power of men. Men who they hate – even if their blood is mixed within the royal line.'

Dis paled and nearly fainted at the elf´s words, but nobody else understood.

'What is that supposed to mean?' Kili had noticed his mother´s strange reaction and Tauriel´s pointed look at him. 'What is she saying?'

'The lack of beard, the handsome face, the gentle character…..have none of you ever noticed?' Tauriel laughed cold heartedly. 'Your prince is a half blood.'

Legolas sneered at her and the elven guards made ready to retreat, but Loaren´s Immortals had secured the throne room and nobody was able to get in or out.

It took Thorin a while to understand what the elf had said, but apparently he was nit the only one who had figured out sis sister's secret.

He turned to his sister and could see the old pain in her eyes, a pain that he had only seen when they had rescued her from these men all those decades ago.

'Amad….' Kili walked over to his mother. 'What is this – elf – saying?'

The pain in his eyes made Loaren snap and she ordered her men to surround the elves. She herself pointed her sword at Legolas´ throat.

'You will honor the king´s wish and leave. Or I will send you back to your father in slices.' Loaren ignored Tauriel´s sneer. 'And master Temuera should have broken more than your nose.'

Legolas looked affronted by her words, but the shock about the revelation made him retreat without further protest. He told his elves to follow him and glared daggers at Tauriel, who still did not seem to regret her words. But before they left the throne room, Legolas returned with a struggling Tauriel in his arms.

'I only know little about the dwarven culture.' he admitted. 'But I do know how dwarves punish.'

Legolas ordered Tauriel to kneel and after she reluctantly did so, he pulled out one of her daggers. Before anyone could react, he cut off Tauriel´s long hair right below her ears and cut off her braids. With a bitter glare at Tauriel, he walked up to Dis and laid the hair at her feet.

Without a word, the dwarves had watched and Loaren could even see approval in most of their eyes and also new found respect for the elven prince. Legolas nodded and bowed before Thorin before he walked out, his guards and later Tauriel following on his heels. It seemed though, as if the red haired captain of the guard had fallen in the elves´ graces, for they did not wait for her to follow.

But none of the dwarves cared about the fallen elf anymore. Dis began to shake and her knees gave in. She crumbled onto the floor, while Kili stood there frozen and looked at her without blinking. Fili and Frigg rushed to Dis´ side, while Thorin ordered everyone else out of the throne room.

'You. Stay.' Thorin told Loaren as she wanted to follow her Immortals out. His gaze was affectionate for a short time before worry for Dis took over again.

'Amad….' Kili pleaded. 'Tell me the truth….is it true what she said?'

'You – ' Dis had to take a deep breath and Loaren was afraid that she would panic and hyperventilate. 'You are my son.'

'Yours and who´s else?!' now Kili was yelling. He knew what had happened to his mother before he was born, but he had never expected that he would be a constant reminder to her.

'I do not know.' Dis admitted and began to sob. 'One of the men who took my freedom is your father…..'

Kili sobbed and walked backwards until he almost toppled over the edge of the bridge leading to the throne. Thorin quickly grabbed his arm and held him steady.

'I am a bastard?' Kili asked. 'And my father is one of the men who did…these horrible things to you? Who destroyed you and your happiness? Who destroyed happiness for all of us?'

Dis could only nod and buried her face in Fili´s chest as he comforted his mother. 'Now you all know. I have carried this secret with me for too long. I just wished that you had not learned it from that elf scum.'

The silence that followed was torturous and Loaren felt deeply for Dis. Suddenly all her hatred made sense and Loaren could even understand that Dis could not forgive and not forget. Kili had to be a daily reminder to her about what had happened and his looks probably also reminded her of his father. Loaren admired Dis for the love and affection Dis had always shown her son and she could not help but walk forward to touch Dis´ shoulder in comfort. She knew though, that the last thing Dis wanted to experience was her pity and that Dis´ biggest fear was to lose her son.

'I assure you, lady Dis, that none of this will leave the throne room and that we will honor your and your sons´ wishes in regard of this matter.' Loaren did not know what else to say. There was really nothing she could say to offer comfort, but Dis nodded and did not slap her hand away. With one last glance at Thorin, Loaren stood and followed her men out. None of them would say a word about what had happened in the throne room, Loaren was sure of that. She only hoped that the elves would also keep their knowledge to themselves. She turned around at the door and watched the royal family bond even stronger over the shocking revelation. Thorin took Dis into his arms and pressed his forehead against hers in comfort, while Fili and Frigg took Kili into their arms. With a sad smile, Loaren turned away and returned to her duties.

 **I am so so sorry for the delay...I am starting a new job and my time runs thin...I will update when I can, remember, I finish my stories. It may just take a while...Again, so sorry.**


	29. Chapter 29

The next bad news were already waiting the next day. A messenger from the East demanded to speak to Thorin and also Loaren. He was a slimy diplomat and the Eastern king´s right hand and Loaren despised him. He showed no respect towards Loaren and looked at her as if she was nothing more than dirt beneath his boots. His arrogant bearing and the lack of sleep had an impact on Thorin and he was about to throw the man out before he could even say a single word.

'King Thorin, greetings from your allies in the East!' the man began to speak as Thorin sat down, another sign of disrespect. 'Our merchants have informed us that the kingdom of Erebor has found back to its former glory and that all of the dwarves have returned. I congratulate you on the reunion of your homeland!'

Thorin could only nod and Loaren felt a cold shiver run down her spine. The contract between Rhun and Erebor only ensured the Immortals to serve until Erebor had regained its own military strength, which was already established weeks ago. There was no reason for her father to leave the Immortals in Erebor any longer. The only way Thorin could ensure the Immortals to stay would be to pay them more than the Eastern king did and that would hurt Dario´s pride and authority as a king.

Loaren had always known that she could not stay in Erebor forever, but having to leave so quickly made her heart ache. She would miss them all, even Dis. Cold sweat creeped over every inch of her body as she realized how much she had enjoyed being in Erebor, despite of all the problems that had occurred and also the heart ache that would come with it.

'King Dario is certain that the support of our Immortals is no longer needed and sees the contract fulfilled.' the slimy man continued.

Thorin was about to growl at the man for his insolence, but then an unexpected support emerged from the dark. Dis, Fili, Kili and Frigg appeared at Thorin´s right side and Balin, Dwalin and Ori on his left. Dis sported her most arrogant expression, which made Loaren smile.

'My lord, you will excuse our sudden appearance, but this is a matter that concerns all of us and should not be decided in secret.' Dis told the man, who glared at her as if she was an orc or even worse.

'King Thorin, do you really accept females speaking up in the presence of men? And that uninvited?' the man was a diplomat, but he was a really bad one. Loaren winced as she saw Thorin´s thunderous expression, but she also saw reckoning on Dis´ face.

'This female is my sister and the princess of Erebor!' Thorin stood up from his throne and his voice thundered through the throne room. 'And she will speak whenever she wishes!'

The eastern man jumped, but quickly regained his professional attitude.

'I apologise, king Thorin.' he bowed, but still ignored Dis. 'I came here to discuss further terms with you and I had not expected any…..disagreement over the contract.'

'The contract says that whoever pays the Immortals, has the command over the Immortals.' Balin spoke up. 'If the contract has ended, the Immortals are free of any duty and may leave.'

Loaren lowered her gaze and mentally made ready to take her men and leave. The smirk on the ambassadors face made her sick and the thought of never seeing Thorin again made her heart crumble to pieces. At first, she did not realise that Thorin had spoken.

‚...I will pay all the gold that the Immortals ask for their service.' Thorin stunned the ambassador with his statement. ‚Erebor might be strong again, but the Immortals have proven to support our troops in a way that we have never thought possible. As you know, the only cavalry we have are the rams of the Iron Hills. Erebor is in need of a cavalry and I intend to keep the Immortals in my service.'

Loaren could not help but stare at the back of Thorin's head as she realised that he wanted to keep the Immortals in his service. Once again, she was grateful for the mask, because she could not fight a grin. But not all of them would stay, she knew that some of her men had family.

‚These Immortals are eastern men!' the ambassador of Rhun snarled.'They will not stay here and serve a dwarven lord.'

‚Thorin is a king!' Dwalin stepped forward and roared through the mountain. ‚He is king of all dwarves...!'

Thorin held up his hand to hold his friend back, but his gaze had turned cold as ice.

‚Ambassador, I am sure that you understand the concept of a mercenary. A mercenary fights for the one who pays. King Dario has kindly offered us the service of the Immortals, but it was not his to offer. As I understand, his payment has stopped and the Immortals are free for another master. And with all due respect, I do not think that any king of Middle Earth will be able to pay as much for the Immortals as I will.'

Loaren winced as she saw the look in the ambassadors eyes and knew that he would make a mistake. He thought himself superior than the dwarves and he would show it if he thought that it might help support his status as an ambassador of the East.

‚I heard that one of our Immortals now warms your bed, king of the dwarves?' the ambassador sneered and looked at Thorin as if he was something disgusting and meaningless. ‚Is that the reason why you do not want them to leave? As a king you should not have to pay for a woman's...'

Before Loaren could react, Thorin had stood up from his throne and had walked towards the ambassador with a murderous expression.

‚This Immortal is the leader of these mercenaries, a princess of the East and my WIFE!' Thorin roared the word wife. Loaren heard gasps and murmurs in her back, but she also smiled as Frigg clapped her hands in excitement. Thorin had informed he dwarves of Erebor and Ered Luin that Frigg was now bound to Fili and this news had been highly welcomed. Every dwarf who knew Fili and Frigg were happy for them and the other dwarves already adored the golden couple. Now that he was free of any marriage contract, he would stand by Loarens side, as he should have from the beginning.

The ambassador was speechless for a moment, but his next hateful words made Loaren shiver in fury.

‚This Immortal is no princess of ours, she was exiled and only king Dario's graces made it possible for her to take the lead of the Immortals!' he snarled. ‚Loaren is a mere mercenary and a whore! And you, the king of all dwarves, took her into your bed in secret! She is not your wife, you never married...or did our spies miss a royal marriage in Erebor?'

The dwarves were about to cut the ambassador into pieces, but Loaren and her Immortals rushed forwards to stop them from diving fists first into another diplomatical disaster. She was used to be called a whore by lesser men, but she understood that Thorin would not accept anyone insulting his...queen. Loaren was so surprised about his revelation, that she barely kept control over the situation.

‚The royal marriage did not take place in Erebor, good man!' a voice from the door sounded through the dwarven yelling.

The dwarves and men turned, only to see two hobbits at the door to the throne room, flanked by Dori and Ori.

‚Bilbo Baggins, at your service!' the younger hobbit bowed and smiled warmly at the dwarves. ‚And may I introduce you to the Thain of the Shire? We have decided to pay our allies a visit and to invite ourselves to the royal wedding!'

‚Hah!, the eastern ambassador pointed his finger at Bilbo. ‚So the king is not married!'

‚Who is talking about the king?' Bilbo and the Thain walked towards Thorin and stayed at his side. ‚We were talking about prince Fili and princess Frigg! King Thorin got married in the Shire many months ago, we were all there! A wonderful wedding, really! The Shire talked about it months!'

‚This is a lie!' the ambassador snarled. ‚No king would ever marry such a low woman...and she is not even a dwarf! Never has anyone heard of a dwarf marying someone outside of his rasse! Dwarves to not mix with others!'

This time, Dis stepped forward and had to be held back by Thorin.

‚We do not welcome anyone under this mountain who does not respect our people! This woman and her Immortals have been at our side for months and they have given their blood for us! They are members of our kingdom as far as we are concerned. If you insult or attack them, you have all of us on your back!'

‚As well as us!' Bilbo drew Sting and almost gave the Thain a coronary.

The ambassador did not say another word. His face was red as a tomato's and he backed away from the furious dwarves.

‚This is not over!' he yelled when he had reached the door.

‚It is over.' Thorin mumbled and decided to not linger with this man. ‚Bilbo! Master Thain! You could have informed us of your arrival! This is no way of greeting friends in Erebor!' he hugged Bilbo and shook the Thain's shoulders, almost making his teeth rattle. ‚But if you gentlehobbits would excuse me, I have to get something done.'

Thorin turned towards the Immortal next to him and pulled his mask down before leaning up for a kiss. He stopped himself inches in front of the man's face and wide eyes. In this chaos, Thorin had thought that Loaren would be standing behind him and had not payed attention. He could hear his nephews, Balin and Dwalin chuckle and rolled his eyes. Somebody cleared her throat and Thorin looked at the other Immortal whose bearing seemed cheepish. He was about to move towards her as Dis's voice cut through the throne room.

‚Now wait just a moment, you are MARRIED?!'

0

‚Now...' Dwalin rubbed his hands. ‚When's the second wedding?'

‚Oh no!' Dis yelled. ‚First you tell me about the first wedding! Thorin II Oakenshield, how could you not tell me that you are married? And what about Frigg?! If you were married to Loaren when you came to Ered Luin, then...you are such an insensitive moron under the mountain!'

‚We did not really get married!' Thorin tried to explain, but the Thain interrupted.

‚I beg your pardon, you two are still married in the Shire!'

‚If you are married in the Shire, then you are married everywhere!' Dis glared at Thorin.

‚We did not even know what we had done!' Thorin held up his hands and looked at the Immortal to his right. ‚A little help here?'

But the Immortal took his mask off again and Thorin realised that he was talking to the male Immortal again.

‚Oh, for Mahal's sake!' Thorin frowned. ‚From now on, no more masks!'

Loaren chuckled and told her fellow Immortal to leave the throne room. The man left with a huge grin and Loaren was sure that she would get an ear full from Temuera lateron.

Loaren took of her mask and looked at Thorin, who gazed back at her with a warm longing that made all her doubts vanish. They had not talked much in the past days and Thorin's rejection had hurt Loaren, but she was tired of all this drama. Of course, Thorin would have to make up for his behaviour, but Loaren hoped that he was aware of that himself.

‚Now...' Dis looked at the hobbits and Loaren. ‚Somebody tell us about the wedding!'

‚But not here!' Frigg clapped her hands. ‚We...' she pointed to the females and to his own shock, Ori. ‚...we will have a little talk and you...' she pointed at the males and the hobbits. ‚...you have to welcome our guests. If the king agrees of course...'

Frigg had forgotten that she was not the queen to be anymore and that she had ordered the actual king around and blushed lightly. But she was a dwarf and proudly hid her insecurity behind a stubborn look. Thorin shook his head and then looked at his guests.

‚The princess is right, we will welcome our guests and celebrate!' Thorin declared and the dwarves and Bilbo cheered. Thorin turned towards Loaren and smiled softly. ‚And after that we will talk.'

‚And we will handle the matter about the Immortals.' Balin looked at Dori and Dwalin. ‚Maybe Master Temuera will join us tomorrow, since you might be...occupied.'

Balin raised an eyebrow and looked at Thorin and Loaren, while Fili and Kili sniggered in his back.

‚Oh, grow up.' Balin rolled his eyes, but could not fight a grin himself.

‚Ehmm...alright.' the Thain cleared his throat and rubbed his hands. ‚We brought some carts of Old Tobi, if you would kindly help us to...'

‚Weed!' Kili cheered and made everyone jump.'What, you love that stuff, do not give me that look...uncle?'

0

Loaren followed Dis, Frigg and Ori to Friggs rooms and on the way they ran into Hild, who joined them. In front of Friggs rooms, Gouna, Kira and Nala waited and Loaren watched with wide eyes when Dis waved them in and closed the door behind all of them.

‚You can sit down, I ordered some mead...' Dis nodded at Frigg, who smiled.

,Why...why is everyone here?' Loaren looked at her friends and Dis in worry.

‚Well, since apparently nobody but the dwarves who accompanied you to the Shire knew about this „wedding"...' Dis shot Ori a glare. ‚...we would like to know everything. And I mean everything!'

‚You...you want to know about the wedding. You are not angry?' Loaren did not trust the peace.

‚Oh, I am angry...but I will decide with whom I am angry after I heard the story.' Dis frowned. ‚I already have the feeling that I will have to give my brother a good headbutt though.'

Frigg chuckled and smiled at the three other women, who looked at the king's sister and did not understand the change in her yet. Dis had hated the Immortals and now they were stuck with her in the same room, but they all wanted to hear the story and Frigg had invited them.

Frigg had filled the glasses with mead and told everyone to sit down around Loaren and Ori. She could see that Loaren was still trying to form a straight thought, so she turned towards Ori.

‚Master Ori, would you start telling us how the king and Loaren ended up married? And why are they only married in the Shire?'

‚If you are married in the Shire, you are married everywhere!' Dis raised her arms in desperation. ‚A marriage is not a joke!'

‚We did not marry on purpose!' Loaren yelped, but then she realised how that sounded.

‚What do you mean with you did not marry on purpose?' Dis wanted to ask, Hild beat her to it.

‚Ladies, you wanted to hear a story?' Ori tried to shout through the noise of six females talking and immediately focused on Ori. Loaren chuckled as they all looked at him with big eyes when he told them how they were welcomed in the Shire and how Lobelia made all their life misery.

‚This Lobelia person sounds like lady Dis.' Gouna muttered under her breath, but the king's sister heard and sighed.

‚Well, I guess I deserved that.' Dis stated and blinked at a frozen Ori. ‚Please continue.'

‚Uhm...' Ori had been sure that Dis wanted Gouna's head for that remark, but her reaction had been the total opposite. It seemed as if the king's sister felt at peace lately. ‚Alright, well...all we know is that king Thorin and Loaren had left Bag End to get Bilbos spoons back from the dragon...Uhmm...lady Lobelia. The next morning they came back and were married. Kind of.'

All eyes turned to Loaren, who was the only one present who knew what exactly had happened, but Loaren was not ready to share everything, especially not with Dis and Frigg, the sister and the former fiance of the king.

‚It was a misunderstanding, really.' Loaren started and ignored Dis' sneer. ‚We got lost on the way back...' at that Dis really started laughing. ‚...and we slept under a big tree, which stood in the middle of Hobbiton, the party tree. We...were only spending the night, but in the next morning we woke up to Lobelia yelling at us. At first we did not understand what all the drama was about, but then Bilbo told us that it was common amongst hobbits that newly wed couples slept below that tree in their wedding night. Weddings also take place below that tree. So, technically, we were married then.'

‚That's it?' Hild looked at Loaren with big eyes. ‚That was your „wedding"? Sleeping under a big tree?'

‚They had a wedding afterwards...' Ori stated, but then jumped as Loaren glared at him.

‚Ori!' Loaren growled.

‚You spend way too much time with my brother, you already growl the same.' Dis stated dryly. ‚Now, tell me why my brother married – twice – without his family being present.'

‚We are not married! We never agreed to this!' Loaren shook her head. ‚We never wanted...'

‚You want my brother, I can see it in your eyes.' Dis interrupted her. ‚I knew love once and I can still recognise it when I see it. You love my rockhead of a brother. And he loves you, even when he does not show it enough.'

Dis frowned as she saw the doubt in Loaren's eyes and the frown on her face.

‚There is no way that we can be together. Not like this.' Loaren's voice grew thick with sadness as she spoke. ‚I am a mere mercenary and he is the king of Erebor. His people will not accept me as their queen.'

‚Give them a chance.' this time Frigg spoke. ‚Dwarves can be stubborn and proud, but we cherish loyalty and honesty, regardless of the person. You may be one of the Eastern Folk, but we know what you and your men have done for us. You are not only our guards, you became our friends. You went after Gimli when nobody else could. You protected this mountain with your lives. Do not think that we are that thick headed and never saw that.'

Loaren looked back at Frigg, then at Hild and Dis. She saw trust and warmth in their eyes and no hostility, not even in Dis' eyes.

Gouna, Kira and Nala only looked at the dwarves with big eyes. They had all found a home in Erebor and like many of the Immortals, they had felt at peace under the mountain, despite their worries at the beginning of their assignment. Only a few would return East if the Immortals should stay in Erebor. But at the moment, they only cared about their leader's happiness.

‚Is the king a good kisser?'

‚Does his beard tickle?'

‚You only slept under the tree, right?'

‚Alright, no more mead for those three!'


	30. Chapter 30

**I am so sorry for the long wait ;(((**

‚So...you really blew it.' Bilbo raised an eyebrow and looked at Thorin over the huge mug of ale.

Dwalin, Fili and Kili almost fell off their seats laughing and the Thain only shook his head.

‚Bilbo, this is no way to speak with the king.' the Thain chided. ‚King Thorin rather majesticaly cocked up his semi legal marriage.'

That was the moment when even Thorin had to smirk and the table errupted into roaring laughter. Temuera nodded strongly and the rest of the Immortals were sorry that they were not wearing any masks anymore.

‚I guess I did.' Thorin sighed and earned a look from Bilbo.

‚Where is insufferable and stubborn Thorin and what have you done to him?'

‚Insufferable and stubborn Thorin left after the second mug of ale.' Dwalin patted his friend and king on the shoulder. ‚He will make a reappearance when he meets with the insufferable and stubborn lady.'

‚Dis?' Thorin frowned.

‚Loaren!' Dwalin and Temuera said in union.

‚So, the stubborn girl has not made a step towards you neither?' the Thain shook his head. ‚I had thought her to be more clever.'

‚Love makes you stupid, not clever.' Fili stated dryly and looked at his brother, who frowned.

‚Nope, no elf stories here today!' Nori covered his ears. ‚You got rid oft hat red haired catastrophy, thank Mahal and prince Legolas on your knees for that! By the by...that prince might be more your type, Kili...'

Needless to say that nothing was achieved that evening as far as the king's marriage to Loaren was concerned.

But when Thorin stumbled to his room later that night, he took the wrong turn and miraculously landed in Loaren's chambers that she shared with Temuera. Thorin knew that Temuera was a father figure for Loaren, so he did not mind, besides the two barely slept in these rooms anyway because they were on duty or patrol outside oft he mountain. Silently, Thorin stepped into the room and looked at the bed on the right, where Loaren seemed to be in deep sleep. With a smile, Thorin sat down on the bed and reached out to stroke her cheek as his wrist was turned and he flew off the bed with a loud bounce. With a groan, Thorin looked up to see Loaren sitting on top of him with a dagger in her hand.

‚What on Earth?' Loaren sighed as she recognised who had woken her up. ‚Do never wake up a woman like that, Thorin! I was sleeping and trying to ban the talks with your sister and former fiance out of my head!'

Thorin could only look at the beautiful woman on top of him and in his drunk mind, he paid no attention to what she was saying. He moved his hands to her waist and pulled her towards him. When their lips met, Loarens sigh went right to Thorin's lower body and he deepened the kiss. While Loaren enjoyed the passionate kiss, she could also not forget the hard time Thorin had given her during the last weeks and pulled back.

‚Stop that.' Loaren shook her head to clear it. ‚You cannot just walk in here as if nothing had happened.'

Thorin felt a pang of guilt at her words, even though he was majestically drunk.

‚I am sorry about how I treated you.' he whispered and sat up to press his forehead against hers. ‚I was selfish, stubborn and...insufferable.'

Thorin nearly growled the last word and Loaren had to chuckle.

‚You are mighty honest when you are drunk.' Loaren teased and stood up.

‚Better remember that conversation, because I won't.' Thorin mumbled and tried to stand up, but the room was turning. The last thing he saw was Loaren standing over him in the dark room.

0

When Temuera returned to his rooms even later that night, he stumbled over something on his way to bed. When he lighted a candle, he nearly set the room on fire by letting it go right onto the king of Erebor, who was snoring on the floor.

‚By all the Gods...' Temuera was tired and all he wanted was to sleep. But he could not sleep in a room with Loaren and this dwarf of all dwarves. With his luck ,they would wake up and make up in the next morning. ‚Nah, no way...'

Temuera muttered and decided that he would sleep in the stables, beside his horse. Grumbling and cursing, Temuera walked back tot he door – of course not without kicking an unconscious king on his way out – and slammed the door. But nobody awoke until the morning.

Thorin was even more grumpy than usual, for his head and his back hurt and Loaren figured that now was not the best time to have „the" talk. So Loaren sat back on her bed and watched Thorin stand up.

Before any oft hem could say a word, a loud knock on the door made both wince.

‚Ren! Are you dressed?' Temuera shouted through the door and Loaren could hear the smirk in his voice.

‚A little louder, please, the rest oft he mountain did not hear you!" Loaren shouted back and chuckled as she saw Thorin cover his ears and growled. ‚Too much to drink, huh?'

‚I think we drank the whole mountain...these hobbits are steadfast...' Thorin grumbled and ignored Loaren's chuckle. ‚I will...leave...and come back when I am more presentable.'

‚Alright.' Loaren opened the door and glared at Temuera, who grinned at her.

Temuera and Thorin almost danced around each other as one wanted to enter and one wanted to leave the room. After a few moments, they had managed and the door closed behind Thorin, but not before Loaren had to tell him to go to the right instead the left.

‚No clue of orientation...in every aspect of life.' Temuera shook his head.

‚Show some more respect.' Loaren chided, but she knew that Temuera was making fun.

‚I will show him the respect he deserves when he shows it to you.' Temuera stated and sat down on his bed. ‚By the way, we have to talk.'

‚Yes, I guess, we do...' Loaren sighed. ‚I have not spoken to our men, yet, so I do not know if...'

‚Two dozen will leave us.' Temuera informed her. ‚They will go back to their families in the East. But about thirty men want to ask the king if they could bring their families here and start a new life either in Erebor or in Dale. The rest will stay and serve the dwarven kingdom. They want to stay in King Thorin's service.'

Loaren gasped and looked at Temuera in shock, for she had not seen that coming. Only two dozen would leave and they all had family.

‚It seems as if Erebor has become a sanctuary to many of us...' Temuera guessed Loaren's thoughts.

‚More than a sanctuary, a home.' Loaren looked at her second in command. ‚What will you do?'

‚I will leave with the two dozen men.' Temuera informed her and winced as he saw the sadness in her eyes. ‚They need a leader and your place is here.'

Loaren understood, but she knew that she would miss Temuera more than anything. He had been the one who had given her a chance with the Immortals and he had been the one who had made the life Loaren had now possible. She owned him her life.

‚Do not look at me like that.' Temuera sighed and walked over to sit down beside Loaren. ‚It's for the best.'

There was something in his voice that made Loaren look at him with a frown. When their eyes met, Temuera frowned.

‚I know that you see me as a father and a mentor and I am proud to have such a high standing in your heart.' Temuera stood up and walked to the other end oft he room. ‚But I cannot stand seeing you with him, I cannot stand the fact that this insufferably stubborn dwarf has worked his way into a place in your heart when I couldn't.'

Loaren gasped as she understood the meaning of Temuera's words.

‚You...you love me? Not like a daughter or an apprentice, but as a...?'

‚As a woman, yes.' Temuera sighed. ‚It was easy to ignore it when we had only our duty and were hidden behind the masks. But now that I can see your face every day and see more than the hardened warrior that you are, I cannot help but to want more. And I know that I will not get any more from you.'

Loaren wanted to sit down until she realised that she was already sitting.

‚How could I not see that?' she muttered and made Temuera chuckle.

‚You had enough worries and enough doubts to think about.' he frowned at the next words. ‚If I will ever learn that this dwarf hurt you or does not respect you, I will come back and kill him myself. And then, love or not, I will be the Easterling that marries you.'

Loaren gave him a sad smile, she knew that Temuera was a very traditional thinking man of Rhun, but he had always resepected her, not as a woman, but as a warrior. Seeing her as a woman now must have been very hard for him.

‚When will you leave?' Loaren asked.

‚Two days from now.'

0

Despite their best intentions, Thorin and Loaren did not have the talk until the Immortals left the mountain. Thorin was occupied with the diplomatic relations between the Shire and Erebor, as well as the royal wedding between Fili and Frigg – Ered Luin had to be informed about the change in plans – and Loaren prepared the journey home together with Temuera. Loaren was sad about Temuera leaving, but then again things had changed between them. She could see the love for her in his eyes now and wondered how she had never seen it before.

As the day had come, Loaren said her goodbyes to every Immortal personaly. When it was Temueras turn to say goodbye, Loaren could barely hold back her tears.

‚Thank you...for everything.' Loaren embraced him and felt him sigh against her when he embraced her back.

‚It was understood.' Temuera looked down at her when they parted. ‚I knew that you would go your way and that you would also lead our Immortals to a better life. Most of us ran away from something and now we have a home – thanks to you.'

‚What did you run away from?' Loaren asled as Temuera mounted his horse.

But Temuera only smiled down at her and turned away. Loaren watched him and the other Immortals ride East, away from the Lonely Mountain and away from her and her heart ached. She did not feel the cold freezing her inch by inch until a warm cloak wrapped around her shoulders. When she turned, she looked into Thorin's understanding eyes and felt her tears run down freely. Without saying a word, Thorin took her in his arms as they watched the Immortals depart together. They returned tot he mountain when the last Immortal had passed from their sight.

‚You are shivering.' Thorin whispered against Loaren's ear when she turned around in his arms.

‚I can't feel my face anymore.' Loaren sighed and chuckled as Thorin kissed her nose. ‚Nor the rest of my body.'

‚I would take care of that.' Thorin grinned, but soon turned earnest again. ‚But first, we really need to talk.'

Loaren nodded and made Thorin lead her tot he royal chambers. There, she sat down in front of the fire sipped the warming tea Thorin had made. As she could feel her limbs again, Thorin started talking.

‚I know that I do not deserve your love, nor your forgiveness.' Thorin sat down on the floor in front of her. ‚I behaved like an Easterling...'

‚I beg your pardon?' Loaren smirked as Thorin realised what he had said.

‚I mean...what I meant to say was...' Thorin frowned as he saw Loaren smirk behind her teat cup and growled. ‚Are you having fun?'

‚I really have.' Loaren grinned and bit her lip as Thorin moved closer.

‚Do not look at me like that when I am trying to apologise." Thorin whispered and looked at her lips. ‚I cannot concentrate when you do that.'

‚I do not want you to apologise like that, Thorin.' Loaren stated softly. ‚I want you to show me how sorry you are and I want you to show me that I can trust you again. This will take time. And I will do the same.'

‚You?' Thorin looked at her in surprise. ‚You have nothing to feel sorry for.'

‚I pushed you back from the beginning and I let my doubt stand between us.' Loaren shook her head. ‚I could have taken the initiative, but I did not. I am to blame for this as much as you are. I did not fight for us.'

‚But you never gave up on us.' Thorin moved nearer and Loaren could feel the heat of his body covert he heat of the fire. ‚You stayed by my side, even though you did not have to – and do not dare to say that I paid you. In fact, I did not pay your Immortals for the last two moons. I forgot.'

At this, Loaren burst into laughter and did not stop until Dis came running, thinking that she had gotten insane.

0

‚Soooooo, did you make up?' Gouna teased Loaren when the were on duty at the gates lateron. ‚The king looks mighty satisfied.'

‚We talked.' Loaren saw Gouna smirk and slapped her arm. ‚We talked, nothing more.'

‚Your are punishing him?' Gouna shook her head. ‚You are punishing him for keeping you at distance all that time.'

‚I am not!' Loaren tried to defend herself.

‚Then what is it?' Gouna turned towards her. ‚You have already slept together, so what is keeping you from doing it again? It was not bad was it?'

‚We have not...how do you know that we already...?'

‚That Dwalin fellow is a real chatterbox.' Gouna chuckled. ‚He told me. The little dwarf, Ori? He slapped him for telling us.'

‚Us?' Loaren hoped that she could ever dare to step before her men again. ‚Who the heck is us?'

‚Well, Kira, Nala and me...and I think Temuera as well, but he did not take it very well.' Gouna did not say more, but Loaren could tell that she knew about Temuera's feelings. But she did not want to talk about it.

‚Great." Loaren muttered and sighed again.

‚By punishing the king, you are punishing yourself.' Gouna told her. ‚Go for it, do not make the same mistake as him and let your pride stand in the way.'

0

On the way back to her chambers, Loaren ran into Frigg, who looked nervous and pale.

‚Princess Frigg!' Loaren tried a smile, but Frigg barely reacted, which worried Loaren greatly. Frigg had always been the sunshine under the mountain. ‚What is wrong?'

‚I...I will have to inform Ered Luin and my family from the change of plans.' Frigg swallowed. ‚They will not be happy.'

‚You will still marry a prince and you will be the queen of Erebor one day.' Of course, Loaren knew that the families of the brides were very ambicious and did not care about the happiness of their daughters in such cases, but Frigg would have the chance of happiness and also the throne, just to a later date.

‚My mother wanted me to marry the king, not the prince.' Frigg shivered and could barely look Loaren in the eye. ‚And...if you and Thorin ever had...'

Frigg did not continue the sentence and wanted to turn away, but Loaren did not let her.

‚If we ever had what?' Loaren asked and softly took Frigg's arm to take her to he chambers and make her some warm tea. Frigg looked as if she was wandering the cold mountain for some time.

‚If...this is so terrible, I cannot believe that this is actually an issue...' Frigg closed her eyes and turned away from Loaren. ‚If you ever had a child, Fili would not be Thorin's heir anymore and I would not be queen.'

Loaren let go if her arm in surprise, but she knew that these were Frigg's mother's worries and not her own. Frigg misunderstood her reaction though and started crying.

‚I only want Fili, I do not want a crown or anyting else...Loaren, I am so sorry...' Frigg started running and surprised Loaren with it. As soon as Frigg had run around the next corner, Loaren cursed and ran after her. She did not see the dark figure in the shadows and the smirk covering his face. She also did not see the shadow retreat to the guest chambers of Erebor. The ambassador of Rhun was rubbing his hands together. His plans of writting fake letters from Ered Luin to the blonde little princess had worked better than expected. The king and his family would regret dismissing him like they did.


End file.
